Lo Fu-chu (; born 2 July 1943) is a former Taiwanese legislator and a self-described leader of the "Celestial Alliance" organized crime group. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he was known as the most notorious person involved with organized crime then holding public office, and was reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in Taiwan. While in office he was described by other legislators as "verbally and physically violent", and he was arrested the same day that his second legislative term ended, in 2002. After leaving office Lo fought and appealed many charges over the next decade, but was eventually convicted in 2012 for money laundering and insider trading and sentenced to four years in prison. Following his conviction Lo was released on bail and subsequently disappeared. Officials at the Taiwanese Criminal Investigation Bureau believe that he has probably fled to China, where he has investments in the hotel and entertainment industries.
Early career By the early 1980s, Lo was a mid-level figure in the Taiwanese underworld. Lo's brother was murdered by another figure in the Taiwanese mafia, but Lo was not senior enough to take revenge.
In 1984 Lo was detained for three years following Operation Clean Sweep, an effort by Taiwanese police to target organized criminal organizations and their members. Including Lo, 2,346 alleged "gangsters" were arrested in Operation Clean Sweep."Minister Discusses Elections and Sees ‘Operation Clean Sweep’ Lessening Crime" . Taiwan Today. October 28, 1985. Retrieved September 9, 2013. Following his release, Lo joined, and became a leader of, a new criminal organization named the "Celestial Alliance", which was formed by a coalition of mob bosses who had been jailed together during Operation Clean Sweep.Adams, Jonathan. "Gangster Life: Taiwan's Real-Life Sopranos". Global Post. May 4, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
Lo's leadership contributed to the growth of the Celestial Alliance, and it eventually became one of the three largest organized criminal organizations in Taiwan. The Celestial Alliance has become involved in a wide variety of legal and illegal operations, including construction, entertainment, the hotel industry, waste disposal, real estate, extortion, illegal logging, cyber crime, human trafficking, arms and drug smuggling,Kastner, Jens. "Gangsters and Politics Shake Hands in Taiwan". Asia Times Online. May 15, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013. loansharking, illegal gambling, and prostitution. They later spread to mainland China, where they made investments in the hotel and entertainment industries in and around Beijing and Shanghai.Nunns, Cain. "Taiwanese Politics: Gangsters’ Paradise?". Global Post. June 8, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2013. Some members have been elected to lower-level political positions, where they are often perceived as working more effectively and efficiently than their rivals. Its main rivals are "mainland" gangs: those with roots in the 1940s Kuomintang exodus to Taiwan.
In 1990 the Taiwanese government launched another initiative targeting organized crime, Operation Thunderbolt, and Lo was personally identified by Hau Pei-tsun, the Taiwanese premier, as the operation's chief target. Lo evaded detention by fleeing Taiwan, and remained abroad until 1992. While Lo was abroad, two of his sons were elected to public office: one, Lo Ming-tsai, was elected to Legislative Yuan as a Kuomintang representative,Huang, Joyce. "Suspected gangster elected to judicial committee". Taipei Times. September 22, 2000. Retrieved June 18, 2016. and the other was elected to the municipal assembly of Xindian.
Following his return to Taiwan, Lo became a successful entrepreneur and businessman. His investment in the construction and real estate industries, and (allegedly) in illegal gambling operations led him to become one of the wealthiest men in Taiwan. In order to establish a good relationship with the people of his hometown, Xindian, he organized a local charitable organization for the elderly and made several large public donations to the community. In 1995, motivated partially because he believed it would assist him in avoiding criminal investigation, he ran for a seat in Taiwan's Legislative Assembly as an independent candidate, and won. (In Taiwan, sitting legislators are immune from arrest or imprisonment unless a majority of their fellow legislators vote otherwise).
Political career
Political activity Lo was elected in 1995, and was re-elected in 1998. Following his election to the legislature, Lo led a small bloc of 11 independent legislators, informally referred to as the "Non-Party Alliance". Because neither of Taiwan's two major political parties (the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)) had clear majorities, Lo's bloc often held the deciding swing votes. He quickly acquired a reputation as a mediator and arbitrator within the government. He generally sided with the KMT on important issues, but sided with the DPP in 2000 in order to keep the DPP president, Chen Shui-bian, from being impeached.
Because of the good relationship that Lo developed with KMT legislators, he was appointed to both attend and chair numerous government committees, including transportation, construction, and several associated with business. In 1998 Lo was appointed to the legislature's judicial committee. Because of Lo's reputation as an organized crime boss, Taiwan's Justice Minister, Liao Cheng-hao, refused to attend the justice committee's meetings while he was a member. In 2000 Lo was appointed to be one of the three co-chairs of the judicial committee, but because of Lo's reputation his appointment was widely protested and criticized by the Taiwanese media, public, and judiciary.
In the 2000 presidential election the KMT vice-president, Lien Chan, attempted to utilize Lo's underworld connections in order to help him run for president. Public anger against Lo's public support of Lien was one of the factors leading to the victory of Lien's rival, Chen Shui-bian.Diamond, Lary. "How Democratic Is Taiwan? Five Key Challenges for Democratic Development and Consolidation". Columbia University. April 1, 2001. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
Other activities while in office During Lo's first term he gained a reputation for being "verbally and physically violent". He was often at the center of several brawls that occasionally occurred within the Taiwanese legislature, once allegedly swinging an aluminum bar at his political rivals during a dispute. He threatened legislators who opposed him, telling one rival: "One day, you may not know how you die." He once insulted a DPP legislator for twenty minutes during a legislative session.
In 1996 an independent legislator, Liao Hsueh-kuang, publicly accused Lo of being a "gangster". Soon after his accusation, Liao was abducted from his home in the middle of the night, blindfolded, stripped naked and locked inside a dog cage that was then left at the side of the road beside a banner that read "Doing Justice for Heaven". Lo denied any involvement. A young man was later arrested, but it was widely assumed that the Celestial Alliance was responsible.
In 1999 Lo attempted to strangle a DPP legislator, Yu Jane-daw, during a legislative session when Yu attempted to interrupt Lo, who was fighting Lee Wen-chung over the passage of a lottery bill. For his assault the Taiwan High Court sentenced Lo to either spend 59 days in prison or pay a fine of NT$53,100 (slightly less than US$2,000) in 2001; but, because Taiwanese legislators cannot be arrested or imprisoned, Lo would not face any potential legal consequences until after his term in office ended, in 2002.Chuang Lo appealed the conviction, but the appeals judge increased the sentence to five months in prison or the option to pay a NT$135,000 fine (approximately $4,500 US). Because this was his final appeal, Lo decided to pay the fine.China Post staff. "Lo Fu-chu Pounced Upon by Prosecutors as Lawmaking Term Ends". The China Post. February 2, 2002. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
Lo was sent to the legislature's discipline committee in 1999, but the case was dropped because over 2/3 of the committee members chose not to attend. Several other DPP legislators also claimed that Lo had assaulted them, but no evidence could be produced and the alleged assaults did not take place in public.Low, Stephanie. "Legislature Censures Lo Fu-chu". Taipei Times. March 31, 2001. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
When interviewed about the many allegations against him in 2000, Lo dismissed them as politically motivated attempts to discredit him, claimed that his opponents lacked any evidence that he had any criminal involvement, and presented himself as an honest businessman who only sought public office at the request of religious leaders who had convinced him that he owed it to society. When asked about his violent actions within the Taiwanese legislature, Lo responded: "When I beat people up, it's because I'm trying to get legislation approved."
On March 28, 2001, Lo slapped, punched, and pulled the hair of a legislator from the Pan-Blue People First Party, Diane Lee,Diamond 5-6 during a meeting of the Education and Culture Committee, after she implied that he had attempted to interfere with the selection of board members for a public educational institution that was experiencing a corruption scandal and called him a "gangster".Doufu, Joe. "Everyone Admires a Witty Comeback". Taipei Times. January 8, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2013. Lo originally denied that he had assaulted Lee, until a video of the incident (which Lo did not know existed) was shown on Taiwanese television. Lee was hospitalized following the incident with a slight concussion.
Following the public revelations of Lo's assault, he refused to apologize to Lee, but announced that he would take a leave from the legislature for three months beginning 29 March 2001 as a form of self-punishment. This was not viewed as sufficient by most of the other representatives, who passed a censure against him on March 30 recommending a six-month suspension from legislative duties. Following his censure, Lo remained abroad until late 2001.
Post-political activities
Legal difficulties Immediately after Lo's term ended (along with his legislative immunity to arrest), on 1 February 2002, prosecutors at the Taiwanese High Court's anti-corruption and anti-organized crime center directed police to arrest Lo, possibly due to fears that delaying his arrest would allow him to flee Taiwan or destroy incriminating evidence. He was first interviewed by the Taipei Prosecutor's Office about suspicions that he had embezzled money from three companies: Taishin Securities (of which he was president); Chinlungtai Co.; and, Li-ta Food Co. He was then sent to the Taipei branch of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau for questioning concerning other suspected criminal activity. Other alleged illegal activity then being investigated included the assault on Diane Lee and an alleged attempt to extort money from the board members of the Jin-wen Institute of Technology. Following his arrest, Lo was detained for four months leading up to his conviction.