Taiwanese independence advocate and former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) passed away yesterday. He was 96.
Koo died surrounded by family at 8:55am yesterday at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, said a statement by the Taiwan New Constitution Foundation, founded by Koo.
It did not specify a cause of death.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Plans for a public memorial service would be announced at a later date, it said.
Koo was born in Taipei in 1926 to a prominent family from Changhua County’s Lukang Township (鹿港). In 1947, he enrolled in the political science department of National Taiwan University (NTU).
He left Taiwan after a police crackdown on a student protest in 1949. Police had stopped and beaten a group of NTU and Taiwan Provincial College (now National Taiwan Normal University) students, leading to protests outside a local police station.
Later that year, the authorities raided two school dormitories to arrest the suspected leaders of the protest. Koo, who was in Hong Kong at the time of the raids, received word that the police had come to his home looking for him, and was urged by family members not to return to Taiwan.
He and his first wife settled in Japan, where he lived for more than two decades, while funding political activists and helping to found the Japan branch of the World United Formosans for Independence.
In 1972, Koo was invited to Taiwan for a secret meeting with then-premier Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), during which Koo urged the government to allow space for local opposition parties and to abandon its “delusional dream” of retaking China, he later said.
Koo returned to live in Taiwan in 1975, later saying that “the key issue in the independence movement is not promoting it internationally, but in Taiwan itself.”
He founded and ran a large fishing company, while continuing his political activism.
He said it was his hope that one day Taiwan would be considered an independent, normalized and dignified nation of immigrants like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and countries in South America.
In 2009, he established the Taiwan Rescue Action Alliance and started a 319-township citizen action lecture tour. The next year, he founded the Taiwan Brain Trust think tank, followed by the New Taiwan Peace Foundation in 2013.
In 2019, he founded the Taiwan New Constitution Foundation, and the year after launched the nation’s first referendum to amend the Constitution. In 2021, he brought together more than 100 organizations to form the Taiwan New Constitution Alliance with the goal of amending the Constitution.
Koo also met former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
He said that he told Abe that Taiwan-Japan relations are inextricably linked, which some saw as an indirect precursor to Abe saying “a Taiwan emergency is a Japan emergency.”
Koo believed that Taiwan’s colonial history is tragic, but because of this, “we cannot repeat the past,” the Taiwan New Constitution Foundation said yesterday.
Most Taiwanese consider Taiwan to be an independent, sovereign nation, but it still bears an “abnormal” status, partly because it has a constitution that considers China and Taiwan to be one country, it said.
Koo was committed to forming a new constitution drafted by and for the people of Taiwan, it added.
In the early 2000s, Koo, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was as an adviser to then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), and later to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
News of Koo’s death was met with an outpouring of tributes from DPP figures.
In a statement issued by the Presidential Office, Tsai offered condolences to Koo’s family and expressed gratitude for his lifelong efforts to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty, and promote free and democratic values, and his contributions to Taiwan’s localization movement.
Writing on Facebook, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) called Koo’s passing “a loss for the nation,” and pledged to continue protecting Taiwan’s democracy, peace and prosperity in his honor.
Also on Facebook, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said that “we are fortunate to be able to follow in Mr Koo’s footsteps” on Taiwan’s path toward becoming a recognized independent country, adding that “we shall continue with diligent efforts toward this goal.”
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said that “Koo’s moral conviction and gentleman spirit, as well as his strength of character will always remain within the hearts of Taiwanese.”
DPP legislative caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in a message titled “Salute to the Eternal Taiwan Independence Warrior” wrote that “for those he left behind, we must contemplate on how to pick up the torch of those who came before us.”
The New Power Party said in a statement that Koo spent his life seeking normalization of Taiwan as a nation.
Toward that goal, the party would strive to change the Constitution and the country’s name in the hopes of restoring a sense of identity and belonging in Taiwan, it said.
“Koo is an elder statesman of Taiwan’s democracy movement, who vigorously supported Taiwanese independence and gave great support to organizations pushing for independent nationhood,” Taiwan Republic Campaign chairman Chou Chung-teh (周崇德) said.
Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Representative Hiroyasu Izumi also issued a statement commemorating Koo.
When Taiwan and Japan broke diplomatic relations, Koo played the role of a secret envoy between Tokyo and Taipei “in the hopes of maintaining practical relations,” he said.
Afterward, Koo spent many years promoting friendly relations between the countries, he added.
Koo’s passing “feels like losing another important compass along a voyage,” he said, adding that he wished to express his “deepest gratitude and condolences.”
Additional reporting by Chen Yun, Lu Yi-hsuan and Jason Pan
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
RSS