Hsu Li-nung (許歷農), a decorated former Republic of China military general and minister of veterans’ affairs who later became a staunch pro-unification advocate, died yesterday at the age of 106, a source familiar with the matter said.
Hsu passed away at Taipei Veterans General Hospital at 6:13am, the source said, without disclosing the cause of death.
Born in China’s Anhui Province on April 4, 1919, Hsu became a soldier after the Second Sino-Japanese War began. He also fought in the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and retired as a three-star general.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
From 1987 to 1993, Hsu served as the minister of veterans’ affairs. He was also on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee. However, due to his opposition to then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), then the KMT chairman, Hsu was expelled from the party. He then cofounded the pro-unification New Party in 1993.
Hsu was best known as a pro-unification advocate who regularly traveled to China to hold pro-unification gatherings and forums.
He met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in 2014 and openly expressed his wish to see “a unified China.”
Hsu was also one of the retired generals who in 2016 attended a ceremony in Beijing, stood for the Chinese national anthem and listened to a speech by Xi. Their actions drew widespread criticism over a perceived lack of loyalty to Taiwan.
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