The Presidential Office yesterday expressed condolences over the death of Taiwanese independence activist and former senior adviser to the president Hsieh Tsung-min (謝聰敏), who passed away at a New Taipei City hospital on Sunday at the age of 85.
Born in 1934, Hsieh was a role model in the fight for Taiwanese democracy and was part of the effort to help Taiwanese political prisoners escape the clutches of the-then authoritarian Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime in the 1970s and 1980s, the Presidential Office said.
It lauded Hsieh’s courage and contribution to the nation in the pursuit of freedom and democracy.
In 1964, Hsieh codrafted “A Declaration of Formosan Self-salvation” with his professor, Peng Ming-min (彭明敏), and classmate, Wei Ting-chao (魏廷朝), when he was a graduate student at National Chengchi University.
The declaration was a manifesto that stated Taiwan and China were two separate nations and that Taiwan’s future should be decided by its people.
Shortly after it was issued, Peng, Wei and Hsieh were arrested. Hsieh was imprisoned for more than 11 years.
After his release, he went to the US and during his seven years there, he helped many political prisoners in Taiwan flee the KMT regime.
He later returned to Taiwan and was elected as a Democratic Progressive Party legislator, serving two terms from 1992 to 1998.
During that period, Hsieh put forth a series of bills on compensation for victims of the White Terror era like himself. The bills were passed in 1998.
In December last year, Hsieh was exonerated by the Transitional Justice Commission.
The White Terror era was a period of political persecution in Taiwan that lasted from 1949 to 1987 during the KMT’s governance.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS