Former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) — who died on Monday at the age of 100 — always gave people the impression of being a “military strongman.” When his son Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) was elected Taipei mayor at the end of 2006, he excitedly told his father, who had served as the chief of the general staff: “Chief, I just took the hill.”
Apart from his public image as a military leader, it seems that he was also chief of staff at home.
Born in 1919, Hau spent most of his life in the military. Upon graduating from the Republic of China Military Academy, better known as the Whampoa Military Academy, he began his military career as an artillery officer in 1937 and retired as a four-star general.
After a military career spanning 53 years, he hung up his uniform and put on his suit, turning from an officer into a civilian. In 1990, he was appointed premier.
He had held a commander’s role for many years, and had served as a top military and political aide to then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), which is perhaps why he always acted sternly and resolutely.
Hau served as commander-in-chief of the army for three-and-a-half years before serving as chief of the general staff for eight years. Serving as a military leader for nearly 12 years gave him great decisionmaking power in the armed forces during the latter part of Chiang’s presidency.
Due to differences in their viewpoints on military and political issues, Hau and Chiang’s successor, Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), turned from close friends to mortal enemies, with their factions haunting the internal workings of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
In 1993, Hau tendered his resignation as premier under internal pressure from Lee and external pressure from the opposition camp.
With his connections inside the party, he was elected one of the KMT’s vice chairmen at the national party congress in the same year, alongside then-vice president Lee Yuan-tsu (李元簇), Judicial Yuan president Lin Yang-kang (林洋港) and Lien Chan (連戰), Hau’s replacement as premier.
Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996 was a turning point, as Hau drew a clear line between the KMT and himself. Serving as Lin’s running mate, he ran against the Lee-Lien ticket nominated by the party. However, Hau only received 1.6 million votes, the second-lowest of all four tickets in the race.
When the KMT lost power in the 2000 presidential election, many inside the party called for the return of the expelled political heavyweights.
In February 2005, the party reinstated Hau’s membership and appointed him chairman of the presidium of the KMT Central Review Committee.
During his prime, Hau made his name on the battlefield and enjoyed great military power. In his later years, he joined the battles of the political world.
A prominent figure in Taiwan during all those years, he faded out of the spotlight to live in deep seclusion. Looking back at his military career and political life, it is just as his son once recounted: Hau lived a splendid life without any regrets.
Lo Tien-pin is a journalist for the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times).
Translated by Eddy Chang
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