Taiwanese democracy pioneer Peng Ming-min (彭明敏), whose advocacy helped the nation transition from an authoritarian state, died yesterday morning at the age of 98.
In announcing his passing on Facebook, the Peng Foundation for Culture and Education said there would be no public funeral, and that Peng would be cremated and interred at the Yanguang Cemetery in Kaohsiung’s Daliao District (大寮).
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) yesterday said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was saddened by the news, describing Peng as not only a renowned legal academic, but also a trailblazer in Taiwan’s democracy movement.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
Peng inspired generations of Taiwanese to safeguard the country’s sovereignty, dignity, democracy and freedom, Chang said, quoting Tsai, adding that she expressed her condolences to Peng’s family.
Born in Taichung in August 1923, Peng graduated from National Taiwan University (NTU) in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
He earned master’s and doctoral degrees in law from McGill University in Canada in 1953 and the University of Paris in 1954 respectively. After finishing his studies in France, he returned to teach at NTU.
In the early 1960s, the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime tried to groom him to become a government official, but he instead became an outspoken democracy advocate.
Peng in 1964 drafted A Declaration of Formosan Self-Salvation with his students Hsieh Tsung-min (謝聰敏) and Wei Ting-chao (魏廷朝).
The document called Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) dream of “retaking the mainland” unattainable, and advocated for “one Taiwan, one China,” a new constitution, joining the UN as “Taiwan” and creating a free nation.
Peng was arrested over the manifesto and convicted of sedition. While under house arrest, he escaped to Sweden in 1970 and remained in exile for more than two decades. It was during that time he established the Formosan Association for Public Affairs in the US and lobbied for the end of martial law in Taiwan.
Peng returned to Taiwan in 1992 and launched his foundation, dedicated to promoting Taiwanese culture, and in 1996, he ran as the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) first presidential candidate on a ticket with Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), now representative to Japan.
Peng finished second in the four-way race, won by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
In 2000, Peng was a senior adviser to then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Many DPP politicians yesterday also expressed sorrow over Peng’s passing.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) called Peng’s life “a history book on Taiwan’s democracy,” saying he was “a spiritual leader of Taiwan’s independence movement,” and that Peng’s faith would remain in the nation and in the minds of all Taiwanese.
Taiwanese must keep fighting for Peng’s goals, which include Taiwan joining the UN and becoming a normalized country, DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang and Hsieh Chun-lin
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,