Chang Chun-hung
Tangwai Theorist & Kaohsiung Incident Prisoner
Democratic Transition
1938–
Chang Chun-hung, born in 1938 in Nantou, was one of the most important theorists and political-magazine editors of Taiwan's tangwai movement. He studied political science at National Taiwan University, earning a master's degree and a solid grounding in the discipline. In the early 1970s he took part in the reformist commentary of The Intellectual magazine, advocating political renewal and generational change, a representative of the young intellectuals engaging in public debate. He then joined the tangwai movement, helping found and edit Taiwan Political Review and lending theoretical depth to the opposition. With Hsu Hsin-liang and others he co-authored "An Analysis of Taiwan's Social Forces," dissecting Taiwan's political change through its social structure, with lasting influence. In 1979 he served as a core editor of Formosa Magazine, which became the tangwai's organizing platform across the island. When the Kaohsiung Incident erupted that year, he was listed among the key figures and sentenced to twelve years in a military trial. After the lifting of martial law he was released and continued with the Democratic Progressive Party, winning election as a legislator and serving as party secretary-general, long engaged in parliamentary and party affairs. He also kept writing, attending to Taiwan's political-economic system and cross-strait issues. Chang is seen as a pivotal figure in the tangwai movement's turn from the streets to discourse, his political writing and editing laying important intellectual and organizational foundations for Taiwan's opposition.
Editor of Formosa Magazine, imprisoned over the Kaohsiung Incident (1979)
Formulated tangwai political theory and analysis of social forces
Tangwai Theorist & Kaohsiung Incident Prisoner
Chang Chun-hung
Era
Democratic Transition
Lifespan
1938–
Chang Chun-hung, born in 1938 in Nantou, was one of the most important theorists and political-magazine editors of Taiwan's tangwai movement. He studied political science at National Taiwan University, earning a master's degree and a solid grounding in the discipline. In the early 1970s he took part in the reformist commentary of The Intellectual magazine, advocating political renewal and generational change, a representative of the young intellectuals engaging in public debate. He then joined the tangwai movement, helping found and edit Taiwan Political Review and lending theoretical depth to the opposition. With Hsu Hsin-liang and others he co-authored "An Analysis of Taiwan's Social Forces," dissecting Taiwan's political change through its social structure, with lasting influence. In 1979 he served as a core editor of Formosa Magazine, which became the tangwai's organizing platform across the island. When the Kaohsiung Incident erupted that year, he was listed among the key figures and sentenced to twelve years in a military trial. After the lifting of martial law he was released and continued with the Democratic Progressive Party, winning election as a legislator and serving as party secretary-general, long engaged in parliamentary and party affairs. He also kept writing, attending to Taiwan's political-economic system and cross-strait issues. Chang is seen as a pivotal figure in the tangwai movement's turn from the streets to discourse, his political writing and editing laying important intellectual and organizational foundations for Taiwan's opposition.
Editor of Formosa Magazine, imprisoned over the Kaohsiung Incident (1979)
Formulated tangwai political theory and analysis of social forces