Huang Hsin-chieh explained

Huang Hsin-chieh
Honorific-Suffix:MLY
Nationality:Taiwanese
Order:3rd Chairperson of the DPP
Term Start:October 30, 1988
Term End:January 20, 1992
Predecessor:Yao Chia-wen
Successor:Hsu Hsin-liang
Order1:Member of the Legislative Yuan
Term Start1:February 1, 1969
Term End1:December 31, 1991
Birth Date:20 August 1928
Birth Place:Dairyūdōchō, Taihoku City, Taihoku Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan (modern-day Taipei, Taiwan)
Death Place:Taipei, Taiwan
Resting Place:Bali, Taipei
Spouse:Chang Yueh-ching
Relatives:Huang Tien-fu (brother)
Lan Mei-chin (sister in-law)
Party:DPP
Alma Mater:National Taipei University
Occupation:Politician
Profession:Democracy Activist, Publisher, Philanthropist, Politician

Huang Hsin-chieh (; 20 August 1928 – 30 November 1999) was a Taiwanese politician, Taipei city council member, National Assembly representative, Legislative Yuan legislator, publisher of Formosa Magazine[1] and Taiwan Political Theory magazine (台灣政論), senior Dangwai Leader,[2] third chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and senior adviser to the president of the Republic of China. He was born on August 20, 1928, during the period when Taiwan was under Japanese governance also known to the Japanese as the Japan governance period of Taiwan and was fluent in Japanese and Taiwanese. He married Chang Yueh-ching (張月卿) in 1954 and had four children and adopted sons. They lived in a modest residence on Chongqing N. Rd in Datong District, Taipei City for over three decades.

On November 30, 1999, he died of a heart attack in Taipei at the age of 71.[3] He was buried in Bali District,[4]

President Lee Teng-hui on January 18, 2000, awarded Huang Hsin-chieh the posthumous citation for activities to promote political reform, nation building, and democracy advancement.[5]

Lee's successor Chen Shui-bian established a memorial lecture at the Ketagalan Institute in Huang Hsin-chieh's memory to promote deeper democracy through lectures ranging from constitutional reform[6] to China-Taiwan-US relations.

Political career

In 1951, he graduated from Taiwan Provincial College of Law and Business (now known as National Taipei University) and a decade later in 1961, he was elected to the 5th Taipei City council and subsequently as a "permanent" legislator of the Legislative Yuan to fill positions vacated by deceased Chinese legislators in 1969.

Democracy (Dangwai) Movement/Persecution

In 1977, he and fellow Dangwai politician Kang Ning-hsiang established the dangwai establishment, a loosely knit political faction[7] to promote democracy, political change and due process of law. The dangwai movement proved to be popular among the Taiwanese for circulation of the Formosa magazine became second island-wide by its third issue,[8] that the government under then premier Chiang Ching-kuo feared eminent plots to violently overthrow the government.[9] Huang Hsin-chieh and others, including Lu Hsiu-lien (8th vice-president of the Republic of China), Chen Chu (Mayor of Kaohsiung) Yao Chia-wen (14th President of the Examination Yuan and 2nd Chairperson of the DPP), Chang Chun-hung, Shih Ming-teh (legislator and interim 5th Chairperson of the DPP), Chang Chun-hung, and Ling Hung-hsuan[10] were arrested by military policemen and secret agents. They were to be tried in military courts, with heavy sentences anticipated. A system for countervailing social unrest dating back to the methods employed in KMT China.

On March 6, 1980, Huang Hsin-chieh met with his defense attorney, Chen Shui-bian for the first time prior to trial and after three months of confinement, isolation and severe interrogation.[11] Chen Shui-bian's oral argument and defense strategy was claims that the government failed to follow proper procedure in obtaining evidence thereby rendering evidence inadmissible in court. The judge over-ruled the objection and favored the state's charges brought against Huang Hsin-chieh. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. During his incarceration, he shared a prison cell with fellow dangwai colleague Yao Jia-wen.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kagan, Richard. Chen Shui-bian Building a community and a nation. Asia-Pacific Academic Exchange Foundation. 2000. Taipei, Taiwan. 67. Huang Hsin-chieh was a member of the Legislative Yuan elected from Taipei and the nominal publisher of Formosa..
  2. Book: My Fight for a New Taiwan - One Woman's Journey from Prison to Power. Lu. Esarey. Hsiu-Lien. Ashley. University of Washington Press. 2014. 978-0-295-99364-5. Seattle. 81. Toward the end of the banquet, Kang Ning-hsiang made a brief appearance, followed by that of the most senior Dangwai leader, Legislator Huang Hsin-chieh..
  3. News: Lin. Oliver. Democracy pioneer dies. 5 March 2017. Taipei Times. 1 December 1999.
  4. News: Chen makes annual democracy pilgrimage. 26 January 2018. Taipei Times. 11 December 2005.
  5. Web site: Commendation citation. Office of the President, Republic of China. Government of the Republic of China.
  6. Web site: 總統參加「黃信介先生紀念講座」. 2004-11-21. Office of the President, Republic of China.
  7. Book: Rubinstein, Murray. Taiwan - A New History. M.E. Sharpe, Inc.. 2006. 0-7656-1494-4. New York. 438. On the political front such newcomers as Kang Ning-hsiang and Huang Hsin-chieh began the loosely knit political faction that would come to be known as the tang-wai..
  8. Book: My Fight for a New Taiwan - One Woman's Journey from Prison to Power. Lu. Esarby. Hsiu-Lien. Ashley. University of Washington. 2014. 978-0-295-99364-5. Seattle. 109. By the third issue, Formosa Magazine's circulation crested 100,000 copies - second only to the Taiwan TV Guide..
  9. Book: Lu, Esarby, Hsiu-lien, Ashley. My Fight for a New Taiwan - One Woman's Journey from Prison to Power. University of Washington. 2014. 978-0-295-99364-5. Seattle. 129. "You have been arrested for plotting to violently overthrow the government..
  10. Book: Lee, Williams, Shyu-tu, Jack. Taiwan's Struggle - Voices of the Taiwanese. Rowman & Littlefield. 2014. 978-1-4422-2142-0. Maryland. 48. These included Shih Ming-teh, Huang Hsin-chieh, Chang Chun-hung, Yao Chia-wen, Lin Yi-hsiung, Lu Hsiu-lien, Chen Chu, and lin Hung-hsuan..
  11. Book: Kagan, Richard. Chen Shui-bian - Building a Community and a Nation. Asia-Pacific Academic Exchange Foundation. 2000. Taipei. 75. Chen met Huang Hsin-chieh for the first time on March 6. His meeting was taped by the guards. Huang, who had already suffered from three months of isolation and severe interrogation, tried to explain that the testimony was forced and not true..