Huang Chin-tao (黃金島), a veteran who fought for the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II and was part of the 27 Brigade after the 228 Incident, died on Tuesday aged 93.
He died peacefully in an intensive care unit with his children by his side, New Culture Association executive director Chen Yen-pin (陳彥斌) said.
Born in Taichung during the Japanese colonial era, Huang served as a volunteer soldier in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Taipei Times
After Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945, he was detained in China’s Hainan Province before escaping and returning to Taiwan.
After the 228 Incident in 1947, Huang joined the 27 Brigade guerrilla force and led a battle against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) forces in the Wunioulan (烏牛欄) area of Nantou County’s Puli Township (埔里). He fled after the group was defeated.
In 1952, Huang was arrested on charges of insurgency, tried and sentenced to death.
His sentence was later changed to life imprisonment and he was paroled in 1975.
After his release, Huang participated in anti-KMT efforts.
He organized a democratic alliance in Taichung and later joined the Democratic Progressive Party’s Taichung chapter, serving as convener of the chapter’s evaluation committee.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) visited Huang at his home in Taichung in 2007, 2008 and 2017.
In January last year, Huang traveled to Taipei with his family to attend the release of a book on the history of the 27 Brigade written by now-Transitional Justice Commission Acting Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠), who was then an associate professor at National Dong Hwa University’s Department of Sinophone Literatures.
He was greeted with applause at the event.
Taiwanese heavy metal band Chthonic on Tuesday paid tribute to Huang on Facebook.
The band’s members said that they miss their conversations with Huang and would continue to fight for what has yet to be accomplished.
They shared links to two of their songs, Quell the Souls in Sing Ling Temple (鎮魂醒靈寺) and Millennia’s Faith Undone (烏牛欄大護法), saying that they were dedicated to Huang.
Huang’s life was more interesting than the plot of any novel, Chen said on Facebook.
Yang Ko-huang (楊克煌), a former member of the Taiwanese Communist Party, once described party founding member Hsieh Hsueh-hung (謝雪紅) as being “fearless,” Chen said, adding that he believes the same description applies to Huang.
A memorial service has been tentatively scheduled for 2pm on Jan. 21, Chen said.
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