Dignitaries, family and friends are today to pay tribute to Huang Chin-tao (黃金島), a World War II veteran and resistance fighter who battled Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) troops during the Taiwanese uprising of 1947 and was imprisoned for 24 years, at a funeral in Taichung.
Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) is scheduled to attend on behalf of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and bestow the presidential citation on Huang and his family, while politicians including former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) are also expected.
Obituaries said that Huang, born as Huang Tsun-tao (黃圳島), dedicated his whole life to transforming Taiwan into a democracy and strove for formal independence until his death on Jan. 8 at the age of 93.
Photo: Huang Chung-shan, Taipei Times
After World War II, Huang was detained in a prisoner of war camp on China’s Hainan Island, where he had been stationed as a soldier in the Japanese Imperial Army. After he escaped in 1946, he and fellow Taiwanese soldiers paid their own fares to return to Taiwan by ship.
In Taiwan, Huang saw undisciplined KMT troops confiscate goods, ransack houses and mistreat Taiwanese, leading to social unrest that culminated in the 228 Incident of 1947.
Huang said that after he saw KMT soldiers shoot indiscriminately and massacre people in the street, he joined the Taiwanese provisional army as the commander of the well-known 27th Brigade to fight against KMT troops and protect the residents of central Taiwan from the killing and plundering.
On March 16, 1947, he lured the KMT army’s 27th Division troops into Puli Township (埔里) in Nantou County, where his brigade engaged government troops in a final stand at the Battle of Wuniulan (烏牛欄之役), at the site of the present-day Ailan Bridge (愛蘭橋).
The odds were stacked heavily against Huang’s brigade, which was bombarded by the enemy throughout the day, and by nightfall, its ammunition was running out. On the night of March 16, Huang disbanded what was left of the unit and the guerrillas retreated into the forest.
Huang was arrested and given a life sentence, which he served in military prisons before finally being sent to the notorious prison on Taitung County’s Green Island (綠島).
Huang was released in 1975, by which time he was 50 years old and was labelled a political prisoner. That prevented him from being hired, so that he could only perform manual labor for low pay. He remained under constant surveillance by KMT police and intelligence agents, and was regularly harassed by the authorities.
On Dec. 10, 1979, Huang and his wife took part in the protest for democracy that led to the Kaohsiung Incident.
Huang was among the founders of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986 and served as an executive at the DPP’s Taichung chapter.
Through the years, as Taiwan gradually became more open and evolved into a democracy, Huang served three terms as a board member at the 228 Memorial Foundation, assisting with investigations into the 228 Incident, and seeking compensation and justice for victims and their families.
In later years, Huang led an ultimately successful drive to erect a monument at Ailan Bridge to commemorate the Battle of Wuniulan, as well as one in Taichung to honor the members of the 27th Brigade.
He taught history to young people, taking them on tours of the 27th Brigade’s movements, led tours at Ailan Bridge, where he recounted the battle and described the military positions.
In 2000, Huang received the Human Rights Award from then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Some of Huang’s last words were: “Although I knew the odds were stacked against us, I had to fight for what was right.”
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS