Former vice president Shieh Tung-min (
Shieh was the first ethnic Taiwanese to serve as Taiwan provincial governor and vice president.
Shieh was admitted to Taipei's Veterans General Hospital on Jan. 23 following a mild heart attack. His condition had fluctuated since then, but steadily worsened after he lapsed into coma on Sunday. He died at home surrounded by his family.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and opposition KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Chen and Lu lauded Shieh as the embodiment of Taiwan's development history. They especially noted that during his tenure as Taiwan provincial governor, Shieh advocated cottage industries, supported the domestic processing of agricultural products and took care of low-income families. Shieh had also served as a senior adviser to Chen.
Born on Jan. 25, 1907, in Changhua, Shieh went to study in China in his youth and returned to Taiwan after the end of World War II. Shieh served at different times as Kaohsiung county magistrate, director of the Department of Civil Affairs and speaker of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly.
Shieh suffered serious injuries to both hands when a parcel bomb sent to his office blew up on Oct. 10, 1966. The bomb was sent by Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), who is now a DPP legislator, to highlight the cause of Taiwan independence.
Wang said yesterday that he had no remorse for what he did at the time to protest the KMT's authoritarian rule.
Shieh was assigned to serve as Taiwan provincial governor in 1972 by then premier Chiang Ching-kuo (
Shieh was vice president from 1978 to 1984 under Chiang Ching-kuo, and continued to be influential in the KMT after stepping down.
Shieh was one of the KMT heavyweights who often helped mediate in the party's fierce internal strife over policies and ideology under Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) chairmanship.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS