Iconic democracy pioneer and Christian minister the Reverend Kao Chun-ming (高俊明), 89, passed away yesterday at 5:25pm, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan said.
Kao, a life-long Taiwan independence advocate, was known for helping Shih Ming-te (施明德) give the authorities the slip, after Shih became a fugitive because of his involvement in the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident during the White Terror era.
Arrested in April 1980, Kao was sentenced to seven years in prison, but later served as an adviser to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Presidential Office spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement yesterday President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) mourned Kao’s death and that the nation had lost a great man.
“Kao was a guiding light for Taiwanese democracy and his courage will be remembered forever, as the bush that burned and was not consumed,” Chang said.
Kao was born in 1929. His grandfather Kao Chang (高長) was the nation’s first Presbyterian convert and a follower of medical doctor and missionary James L. Maxwell Sr.
In an interview with the Chinese Christian Tribune, Kao Chun-ming said he was a willful child who hated going to church and studying.
He came to appreciate his circumstances and the importance of intellectual pursuits only after attending night school in Japan, where students from less fortunate backgrounds worked to earn a living by day and studied by night, Kao Chun-ming said.
Witnessing the carnage after the allied forces bombed Japan in World War II, he experienced a spiritual awakening and decided to attend a seminary, Kao Chun-ming said.
Kao Chun-ming served as the principle of Yushan Theological College and Seminiary from 1957 to 1970.
In 2012, then-Tainan mayor William Lai (賴清德) visited him at his residence and presented him with a commendation that honored him as a “Taiwanese of high character.”
Last month, Kao Chun-ming cosigned a public letter asking Tsai not to seek re-election next year, citing the electoral drubbing that the Democratic Progressive Party received in November last year.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
Taiwan has recorded its first fatal case of Coxsackie B5 enterovirus in 10 years after a one-year-old boy from southern Taiwan died from complications early last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC spokesman Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) told a news conference that the child initially developed a fever and respiratory symptoms before experiencing seizures and loss of consciousness. The boy was diagnosed with acute encephalitis and admitted to intensive care, but his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away on the sixth day of illness, Lo said. This also marks Taiwan’s third enterovirus-related death this year and the first severe
RSS