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.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
RSS