The memorial service for independence advocate and former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) has been extended to Wednesday, Taiwan New Constitution Foundation executive director Lin Yi-cheng (林宜正) said on Friday.
The change was to accommodate the number of people who want to attend, Lin said, adding that interest was much higher than expected.
A separate public memorial would be arranged next month, he said.
Photo: CNA
Koo, who passed away on Monday at the age of 96, was a businessman best known for his life-long advocacy of Taiwanese independence.
People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) — who was alternatively a political ally and opponent of Koo — visited the memorial site at the foundation in Taipei, Lin said.
Lin said Soong told the group in attendance that during the martial law period, Koo advised then-vice premier Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) that a change should be made to how people are officially classified, switching from province of ancestral origin to place of birth, which would help boost national solidarity.
The recommendation was adopted by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government and the policy has remained in place since, as can be seen on Taiwanese ID cards, he said, quoting Soong.
The story shows how dedicated Koo was to fostering unity across ideological and political divides in Taiwan, he said.
Lin also recounted his own anecdote about Koo.
Koo worked to maintain the nation’s unofficial ties with Tokyo and once told Shinzo Abe before he became Japanese prime minister that Japan would lose its global leadership and be forced to remilitarize if Taiwan became part of China, Lin said.
Abe told Koo that he was in complete agreement, Lin said.
Abe became a firm supporter of Taiwan as prime minister and once declared that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency,” Lin said.
Koo was an advocate for stronger relations with the US, and bringing the world’s attention to Taiwan, Lin said.
“The best way to remember Koo is to continue his mission,” he added.
Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), who visited the memorial site on Monday, signed the guestbook, writing: “History will record your lifetime of labor.”
Ker said that Koo had never given up on Taiwanese independence and the creation of a new constitution, which he deemed his life’s calling.
Koo was a supporter and mentor to many younger activists and his ideals will live on, Ker added.
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