Hsu Hsin-liang
Central to the Chungli Incident & DPP Chairman
Democratic Transition
1941–
Hsu Hsin-liang, born in 1941 in Zhongli, Taoyuan, is one of the key figures in Taiwan's tangwai electoral movement and democratization. He studied at National Chengchi University and pursued further study in Britain, returning as a young elite once cultivated by the Kuomintang. Clashing with the party over his convictions, he left the KMT and defied party discipline to run for Taoyuan county magistrate in 1977. Amid disputes over vote-rigging during the count, crowds surrounded the Zhongli police station in a mass protest known as the "Chungli Incident" — the first large-scale street demonstration of the post-war era — and he ultimately won by a wide margin. In 1979 he was suspended from office for supporting cases such as that of Yu Teng-fa, then went abroad, taking part in the Formosa Magazine movement and overseas opposition, long blacklisted and barred from returning. From the late 1980s into the 1990s he repeatedly attempted to "break through" and return to Taiwan, becoming a symbolic case of exiled dissidents seeking to come home. After the lifting of martial law he formally joined the Democratic Progressive Party and twice served as its chairman, advocating an assertive mass-mobilization and electoral strategy. He also put forward controversial lines such as "boldly going west," sparking debate within the party. He gradually parted ways with the DPP mainstream and ran for president as an independent in 2000. Hsu is seen as one of the trailblazers of Taiwan's tangwai electoral movement, his turn from KMT elite to street protester to opposition leader an important case for understanding the path of Taiwan's democratization.
Sparked the Chungli Incident and won the Taoyuan magistracy (1977)
Twice served as chairman of the DPP
Central to the Chungli Incident & DPP Chairman
Hsu Hsin-liang
Era
Democratic Transition
Lifespan
1941–
Hsu Hsin-liang, born in 1941 in Zhongli, Taoyuan, is one of the key figures in Taiwan's tangwai electoral movement and democratization. He studied at National Chengchi University and pursued further study in Britain, returning as a young elite once cultivated by the Kuomintang. Clashing with the party over his convictions, he left the KMT and defied party discipline to run for Taoyuan county magistrate in 1977. Amid disputes over vote-rigging during the count, crowds surrounded the Zhongli police station in a mass protest known as the "Chungli Incident" — the first large-scale street demonstration of the post-war era — and he ultimately won by a wide margin. In 1979 he was suspended from office for supporting cases such as that of Yu Teng-fa, then went abroad, taking part in the Formosa Magazine movement and overseas opposition, long blacklisted and barred from returning. From the late 1980s into the 1990s he repeatedly attempted to "break through" and return to Taiwan, becoming a symbolic case of exiled dissidents seeking to come home. After the lifting of martial law he formally joined the Democratic Progressive Party and twice served as its chairman, advocating an assertive mass-mobilization and electoral strategy. He also put forward controversial lines such as "boldly going west," sparking debate within the party. He gradually parted ways with the DPP mainstream and ran for president as an independent in 2000. Hsu is seen as one of the trailblazers of Taiwan's tangwai electoral movement, his turn from KMT elite to street protester to opposition leader an important case for understanding the path of Taiwan's democratization.
Sparked the Chungli Incident and won the Taoyuan magistracy (1977)
Twice served as chairman of the DPP