Former premier Yu Kuo-hwa (俞國華) died at roughly 4pm yesterday at the Veterans' General Hospital (榮民總醫院) in Taipei after experiencing complications related to leukemia. He was 87 years old.
Yu had been hospitalized earlier due to his worsening condition. After developing critical pneumonedema last week, doctors transferred him to intensive care.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) visited Yu at his hospital bedside on Monday.
The former premier was born on Jan. 10, 1914, in Fenghua (奉化), Zhejiang Province (浙江省). He earned a graduate degree from Harvard University and also studied at the London School of Economics. In addition, Yu received a honorary doctorate from St John's University.
Yu was appointed as the Minister of Finance in 1967, and two years later he was named as central bank governor. Because of his outstanding performance, Yu was promoted to premier and served between 1984 and 1989.
During his five years of service, the former premier created the Council of Labor Affairs and the Environmental Protection Administration.
Yu also lifted the ban on Taiwanese visiting their relatives in China, abolished limitations against the press and ended martial law.
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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