A doyen of Taiwan’s “nativist literature movement,” Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政) passed away at his home in Taoyuan on Saturday, his family said. He was 95.
Chung’s son Chung Yen-wei (鍾延威) said the family discovered Chung not breathing at about 7pm.
Despite his father’s age, he was in relatively stable health over the past few years, Chung Yen-wei said.
Photo: Chen Ching-min, Taipei Times
The family said it is deeply saddened and shocked by his sudden passing, and is preparing for his funeral.
Born in Taoyuan’s Longtan (龍潭) in 1925 during Japanese colonial rule, Chung Chao-cheng, a Hakka, was widely considered the doyen of the literature movement. He was most famous for his works The Dull Ice Flower (魯冰花), the Turbid Waters Trilogy (濁流三部曲) and the Taiwanese Trilogy (台灣人三部曲).
Director Yang Li-kuo (楊立國) adapted The Dull Ice Flower into a film, released in 1989, that was nominated for six Golden Horse Awards and won two, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song.
Chung Chao-cheng’s classics of Taiwanese literature depict the lives and fates of Taiwanese against the background of post-World War II Taiwan, following the end of the Japanese colonial period.
He wrote more than 30 novels and 150 short stories, as well as scores of essays, even though he taught at the Longtan Elementary School until 1979.
In mourning his passing, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed her condolences to his family and said his death was a great loss to the nation’s literary circle.
In a Facebook post, Tsai also praised Chung Chao-cheng for playing an important role in promoting Hakka culture and Taiwanese literature.
Chung Chao-cheng and other writers of his time had jointly published a regular newsletter during the post-war era called the Literary Bulletin, which proved essential to young and aspiring writers of the time, Tsai said.
Tsai said she would always remember him as an elder who saw her as his own child.
She pledged to bear his teachings in mind to continue the promotion of Hakka and Taiwanese culture so that his legacy would last for generations to come.
Writer Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明) said Chung Chao-cheng had a tremendous impact on the development of Taiwanese literature.
Chung Chao-cheng played a crucial rule during the transitional period in the 1950s after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took over the governing of Taiwan from Japan, Chen said.
The Hakka Affairs Council said Chung Chao-cheng was not only a prolific writer, but a devoted promoter of Hakka affairs who helped promote awareness of Hakka culture at a national level.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
RSS