Former vice president Shieh Tung-min (
Shieh was the first ethnic Taiwanese to serve as Taiwan provincial governor and vice president.
Shieh was admitted to Taipei's Veterans General Hospital on Jan. 23 following a mild heart attack. His condition had fluctuated since then, but steadily worsened after he lapsed into coma on Sunday. He died at home surrounded by his family.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and opposition KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Chen and Lu lauded Shieh as the embodiment of Taiwan's development history. They especially noted that during his tenure as Taiwan provincial governor, Shieh advocated cottage industries, supported the domestic processing of agricultural products and took care of low-income families. Shieh had also served as a senior adviser to Chen.
Born on Jan. 25, 1907, in Changhua, Shieh went to study in China in his youth and returned to Taiwan after the end of World War II. Shieh served at different times as Kaohsiung county magistrate, director of the Department of Civil Affairs and speaker of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly.
Shieh suffered serious injuries to both hands when a parcel bomb sent to his office blew up on Oct. 10, 1966. The bomb was sent by Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), who is now a DPP legislator, to highlight the cause of Taiwan independence.
Wang said yesterday that he had no remorse for what he did at the time to protest the KMT's authoritarian rule.
Shieh was assigned to serve as Taiwan provincial governor in 1972 by then premier Chiang Ching-kuo (
Shieh was vice president from 1978 to 1984 under Chiang Ching-kuo, and continued to be influential in the KMT after stepping down.
Shieh was one of the KMT heavyweights who often helped mediate in the party's fierce internal strife over policies and ideology under Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) chairmanship.
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SECURITY CONCERNS: An FBI agent said it was surprising that the shooter, whose motive remains unknown, was able to open fire before the Secret Service killed him On the heels of an apparent attempt to kill him, former US president Donald Trump yesterday called for unity and resilience as shocked leaders across the political divide recoiled from the shooting that left him injured, but “fine,” and the shooter and a rally-goer dead. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting His aides said he was in “great spirits” and doing well. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” he
FRONTLINE DEFENDERS: While air defense forces were placed on alert, Lai visited the navy’s 131st Fleet in Keelung, calling it a vital pillar in the nation’s defense The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it was monitoring “waves” of missile tests in China’s Inner Mongolia and that its air defense forces were on alert. From 4am yesterday, the ministry detected “multiple waves of test launches” by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force in Inner Mongolia, about 2,000km from Taiwan, it said. The military are continuously monitoring developments and the air defense forces are on alert, the ministry said, without giving details. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not answer calls seeking comment outside of office hours. The Rocket Force is in charge of China’s conventional and nuclear