Former Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (???) made his first major public appearance Sunday since being recalled last year, attracting thousands of fans to a new book launch, where he also announced the establishment of a charity he chairs.

Han said he hopes the new book “Mr. Han, Knock Knock,” which is a collection of 12 stories featuring local Taiwanese pursuing their dreams and helping others, helps to both soothe and inspire people during the difficulties caused by COVID-19.

“The hope of Taiwan does not lie in political figures but instead at the grass-roots level,” Han said.

During the event held at Daan Forest Park in Taipei, Han also announced the establishment of Tien Liang foundation (???????), which is devoted to the education of minority groups and other charitable deeds.

Once seen as a leading national political figure, Han became the first municipal leader in Taiwan’s history to be recalled last year, having served as Kaohsiung mayor for only 528 days.

However, a large crowd of “Han fans” attended the event and jostled to take photos with him at Sunday’s event.

The main opposition Kuomintang and Han scored a stunning upset victory over the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the Kaohsiung mayoral election in November 2018 on a wave of popular support that saw the DPP lose the city for the first time in 22 years.

However, Han was recalled in June 2020, leading to a by-election that the KMT candidate Li Mei-jhen (???) lost to DPP nominee Chen Chi-mai (???), who Han previously defeated, by a 70-26 percent margin.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel