Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chu Hsing-yu (朱星羽) was found dead in a motel bathroom in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday.
Chu’s body was found at about 8am yesterday. The initial cause of death has been determined as a heart attack, although a bottle of Kaoliang liquor and sleeping pills were found in his room, police said.
Long considered one of the party’s most representative grassroots figures, Chu represented the DPP in Greater Kaohsiung for more than 10 years and was known for his poignant manner of directing questions at the Legislative Yuan.
He was also known for his boisterous behavior at the legislature.
Chu found himself in hot water over a fistfight with DPP member Lin Chung-mo (林重謨) in November 2003. Chu flew into a rage after Lin said that legislators were selfish and shameless.
The fight followed another scene at the legislature in which Chu threw his chair at the podium to protest the postponement of legislative confirmation of a trade agreement with Panama.
The incidents prompted the DPP to seek disciplinary action against Chu.
He declared he was leaving the party in 2003, after the party caucus blocked a motion that he had spearheaded. After leaving the DPP, Chu joined the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, but did not bid for a legislative seat and chose to leave politics.
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