Veteran pro-localization advocate and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Wang Tuoh (王拓), who had been hospitalized since July 30 after a heart attack, died yesterday. He was 72.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is also DPP chairperson, said Wang’s death saddened the party.
“His continued efforts to improve Taiwan will forever be something that party members aspire to,” she said.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of Tsai Shih-ying’s legislative office
Wang, a Formosa Incident victim, served as legislator for three consecutive terms and chairman of the then-Council of Cultural Affairs in former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration.
He also served as DPP secretary-general when Tsai first assumed leadership of the party in 2008, following the party’s massive defeat in the legislative and presidential elections that year.
The DPP said that Wang volunteered to take on the position of secretary-general for free in 2008, sacrificing time with his family.
Wang’s devotion to the party during a time of difficulty was impressive, the DPP said, adding that during his tenure, he eased the party’s financial burden by paying off NT$150 million (US$4.8 million) of the party’s debts.
“Wang’s courage in the face of hardship and his selfless sacrifice set an example for the party,” the DPP said.
DPP Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) visited Wang’s family and offered the party’s assistance.
DPP Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應), the head of Wang’s office for eight years, said Wang was like a father to him and he was greatly saddened by his passing.
Aside from being a political figure, Wang was also a renowned writer.
His novel Wang Jun Zhao Gui (望君早歸), describing life in Keelung’s Badouzih Township (八斗子), has been cited as a model literary representation of life in Taiwanese fishing villages. His other works, such as Jin Shui Shen (金水嬸), are representative of “nativist literature” (鄉土文學).
Wang was not a prolific writer, but his works were solid and his diction clean, writer Chu Yu-hsun (朱宥勳) said.
There are few writings on life in Taiwanese fishing villages, which is one reason Wang became the representative figure of this subject, Chu said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS