Stage named May Chin, Kao Chin Su-mei (traditional Chinese: 高金素梅; pinyin: Gāo Jīn Sùméi; Wade-Giles: kao chin su-mei, Atayal name: Giwas Ali; born September 21, 1965 in Heping Township, Taichung County, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese aborigine (of the Atayal tribe) singer, actress and politician. After having acted since the mid-1980s, she was elected into the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in December 2001 and re-elected twice in 2004 and 2008, all in the Highland Aborigines electoral district. She is currently a member of the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union.
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Selected Filmography
- Wedding Banquet (1993)
- May Jean (1994)
- Woman Soup (1999)
May Chin also published some 10 albums and showed up in various local TV series and commercials since mid-1980s.
Business and political career
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Besides acting, in mid-1990s May Chin ran a wedding photography service shop in Taipei. However this shop caught fire in 1996 and the fire claimed six lives. May Chin had to close down this shop and she took up the compensation responsibility. Later, in 1998, May Chin was diagnosed with liver cancer. She recovered after having surgery to remove the diseased tissues in 1999.
Since entering the Legislative Yuan, May Chin has been noted for her outspoken views, traditional Atayal costume and face paint in the shape of traditional Atayal tattoo work reserved for married women. May Chin has also been tightly associated with the pan blue coalition, especially in close cooperation with the People First Party. She is also noted for her anti-Japan and China-friendly standpoints, and even protested in front of the Yasukuni Shrine in an effort to remove the enshrined spirits of Aboriginal soldiers who died fighting for the Japanese army during World War II, as well as sued Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for visiting Yasukuni Shrine.
On 19 August 2009, Ms Chin met with the President of the People's Republic of China, Hu Jintao [1]. At the meeting, President Hu expressed his deep sorrow and condolences for the typhoon victims in Taiwan to an actor-turned-politician Kao who led a delegation of her fellow ethnic minorities in Taiwan to visit the mainland. Hu added that "People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are of one family and Chinese people have a long tradition of lending a hand to those in danger and difficulties."[2].
Personal life
Her father was Han Chinese and her mother was a member of the Atayal tribe. Chin has not married to date.
References
- May Chin at the Internet Movie Database
- Personal Blog (in Traditional Chinese)
- Washing away vanity, Taiwan's Aborigines
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