Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), a strong advocate of Taiwan’s democracy and independence, died of multiple organ failure at National Taiwan University Hospital early yesterday morning. He was 78 years old.
The veteran politician was rushed to the National Taiwan University Hospital on Dec. 18 after he was found unconscious at his residence in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Banciao District (板橋). He was diagnosed to have suffered a brainstem hemorrhage and lapsed into a severe coma.
Chai never regained consciousness after emergency surgery and was declared dead yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Correcting its earlier report that Chai died after his two daughters agreed to have his life support removed, Formosa Television (FTV), which Chai cofounded, said there was no such consent.
“The life support was not removed. It was a natural death,” FTV vice president Wang Ming-yu (王明玉) said.
No date has been set for a memorial ceremony, she added.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Known as an earnest pro-independence activist, Chai served six terms in the legislature from 1993 to 2012. He was a member of the DPP’s Central Executive Committee.
In a Facebook post yesterday, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said: “From [his time] abroad to [his return to] Taiwan, party member Chai had dedicated his life to further democracy. Today we have lost a comrade that had long fought by our side.”
Su said Chai had the respect of party members due to his efforts to uphold the nation’s democracy, adding that the party would take up where Chai left off.
The party would also help Chai’s family in whatever way it can, Su added.
“It’s a loss for the country, because Chai had many political ideas and goals that he wanted to pursue,” Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said yesterday.
Wang Jin-pyng said Chai helped push for legislation on the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which played an important role in Taiwan’s political development.
Also, Chai contributed a lot to Taiwan’s democratic movement and the development of Taiwan-US relations, and to the DPP as well, he said.
Numerous members from the pan-green camp, including Su, former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) yesterday paid their final respects to Chai at a memorial service hall set up near the Taipei City First Funeral Parlor.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) president Mark Kao (高龍榮) said Chai won Taiwan’s respect with his pioneering initiatives and the respect of the US Congress with his determination and conviction to “make Taiwan a better place.”
FAPA is a Washington-based nonprofit organization, which Chai and several Taiwanese pro-independence activists co-founded in 1982 to seek worldwide support for Taiwan’s independence and for the interests of Taiwanese.
Chai was the organization’s first president in 1982.
Calling Chai a pioneer of democracy, Kao said the politician’s devotion to making Taiwan a better country has won him the respect of Taiwanese and the US Congress.
US Congressional leaders also expressed their sorrow on Friday at the news of Chai’s death.
“He was a good friend and a great Taiwanese patriot,” said the chairman of the US House of Representatives subcommittee on Asia, US Representative Steve Chabot.
Chabot said that he was “deeply saddened” by Chai’s death.
“Those of us in the Congress who advocate for the cause of Taiwanese freedom will miss him greatly,” Chabot said.
Former chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said that as a lifelong friend of Taiwan and a founding member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, she remembered Chai as a “true leader.”
“He was a familiar face to many of us on Capitol Hill, where he would often meet with members of Congress to discuss the importance of freedom and democracy in Taiwan,” Ros-Lehtinen said.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in