A book commemorating Huang Hsin-chieh (
"He did not like to celebrate his birthday. The only time we celebrated it was on his 70th birthday. It was right after he received the court order requesting him to serve a jail term under accusations that he lead a street demonstration to demand the direct election of the president," said Chang Chun-hung (
"He finally agreed to have a party on his birthday, but he insisted it was his farewell party before he went to prison."
A late chairman of the DPP, Huang was renowned for his caring, generous and unassuming personality.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) recalled Huang. "He was not a suit-and-tie individual in [my] memory, he was noted for his unpretentious outfit with sandals and a plain shirt. When Taiwan is enjoying an enormous economic success and luxurious material life, such down-to-earth values were especially memorable," she said.
"His other respectable quality was his willingness to groom young talent. He openly supported me to be the running mate of President Chen Shui-bian (
Former DPP chairman Lin Yi-hisung (
"Kindness was his other admirable personality trait. He always said that good statesmen should be caring and altruistic," Lin said.
Huang is deemed as one of the prime architects of Taiwan's political reform movement that gave the nation the democratic system it now enjoys. In a political career that spanned more than fifty years, Huang was a major figure behind Taiwan's transition from martial law to democracy. As head of the DPP, he helped push for various national political reforms. He was also the first DPP chairman to be invited by the Presidential Office to have direct discussions with former President Lee Teng-hui.
He died on Nov. 30, 1999 of a heart attack at the age of 72.
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