Huang Hsin-chieh (
Huang was admitted into National Taiwan University Hospital on Nov. 15 after suffering a stroke. After surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain, he was said to be in stable condition but yesterday morning he suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead at 11:50am. He was 72.
Born in 1928, Huang's political career started in 1949 when he was elected as a Taipei City councillor. He quickly became identified with the so-called tangwai movement, a broad group of opposition political forces antagonistic to the one-party rule of the KMT.
PHOTO:GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
In 1969, Huang was elected to the legislature for life -- a practice that ended at that election.
He also led a democratic movement, which culminated on December 10, 1979 in a clash -- widely believed to be engineered by KMT provocateurs -- between riot police and protesters, an event later dubbed as the "Kaohsiung Incident" or "Formosa Incident" (
That event is widely recognized as a milestone in Taiwan's quest for political freedom and democratic reform.
As a result of the incident, Huang was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison on sedition charges, but was given early parole in 1987. He quickly assumed leadership of the opposition movement and was elected chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, the successor to the tangwai established in 1986 while he was still in jail.
He led the party for three years, helping put through major democratic reforms.
Huang liked to boast of having never lost an election, though actually he did lose in a legislative election in 1992 -- a loss which was reversed the following year after one of the victors was convicted of vote-rigging.
Huang's death yesterday was widely lamented as a major loss to Taiwan of one of the prime movers behind reforms which gave it the democratic system it now enjoys.
"He is the major figure in the movement which brought peaceful democratic reform to Taiwan," said Chang Chun-hung (
"He worked in a peaceful way that saw reforms without bloodshed. And he did not claim credit for those achievements," Chang said at Huang's home.
"He never hesitated to find people who were more capable than himself, and delegate responsibilities to them, hoping that reforms could be made and not fearing that himself would be shadowed by others," Chang said.
"He once considered running for the presidency but when younger people raised objections, he dropped out instantly," Chang said. "He was a loveable old man."
Chen Shui-bian (
"He is my eternal mentor. He was like a father to me. It was he who led me onto the path of politics," Chen said at the doorstep of Huang's house where a makeshift structure was being erected by workers for Huang's funeral.
"When I visited him in the hospital, he could not speak very clearly, but I knew what he wanted to tell me. I won't let him down."
Huang Tien-fu (
"His last clear sentence was `I will help you' which was said to Chen," he said.
Huang's younger brother also said that although he fudged on small issues, he never showed confusion on important matters. For example, he never accepted repeated offers from the Presidential Office of vice-chairmanship to the National Unification Committee.
"We feel sad that he left us on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident. But while life has to end at some point, we must maintain his spirit," said Frank Hsieh (
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from