Kao Chin Su-mei

Biography

Kao Chin Su-mei (Chinese: 高金素梅; pinyin: Gāo Jīn Sùméi; born September 21, 1965), also known as Chin Su-mei, May Chin and Ciwas Ali, is a Taiwanese politician and retired actress and singer. She is of Manchu and Atayal descent, Ciwas Ali being her Atayal name.
In the 1980s and 1990s, she starred in many popular TV series and films, including Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet (1993). She also released several Mandopop albums. She retired from showbiz in 1999 following her diagnosis of liver cancer which she recovered from.
Chin was elected into the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in December 2001, and re-elected in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020, all in the Highland Aborigines electoral district. Representing the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, she is currently the party's only member in the Legislative Yuan, where she is an advocate of aboriginal rights and is associated with the Pan-Blue Coalition.

Early life and education

Chin Su-mei was born in Heping Township, Taichung County (present day part of Taichung City), Taiwan. Her father was an ethnic Manchu from mainland China. In the mid-1980s, she stood for election to be a representative of Taiwanese Aborigines within the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan), during which she took on the Chinese surname of her Taiwanese Aborigine mother, hence becoming Kao Chin Su-mei. Her Atayal name is Ciwas Ali and May Chin remains her stage name.
After high school, Chin graduated from the Minzu University of China with a bachelor's degree in ethnology.
Chin also released at least 8 Mandopop albums and appeared in various local commercials. Besides acting, May Chin ran a wedding photography service shop in Taipei during the mid-1990s. However, the shop burned down in 1996, claiming six lives.

Political career

Since entering the Legislative Yuan after elected in the 2001 Republic of China legislative election, 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.
On 19 August 2009, Chin met with the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Hu Jintao. At the meeting, General Secretary 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."
On 8 June 2026, Kao Chin, 60, was officially indicted in a corruption case. According to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, she fraudulently obtained more than NT$7.87 million (US$249,377) in public funds through false claims for legislative assistant salaries, overtime pay, bonuses and childcare subsidies.

Personal life

Chin was once in a relationship with Hong Kong actor Kenny Ho whom she first met on the set of the Taiwanese drama Endless Love in 1989. They later separated in 1993 and still remain good friends. Chin and Ho agreed that if they are still single by the age of 60, they would spend the rest of their lives together.
In 2006, Next Magazine uncovered her long-lasting extramarital affair with the Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan between mid-2000s and early 2010s.
In 2011 she entered into a relationship with a renowned Taiwanese journalist and writer Xu Zhiyuan. They later broke up in 2013 but still remain good friends.