Hau Pei-tsun (, 8 August 1919 – 30 March 2020) was a Chinese politician and

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

who was the

Premier of the Republic of China The Premier of the Republic of China, officially the President of the Executive Yuan ( Chinese: 行政院院長), is the head of the government of the Republic of China of Taiwan and leader of the Executive Yuan. The premier is nominally the ...

(ROC) from 1 June 1990 to 27 February 1993, and the longest-serving

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

of the Republic of China Armed Forces from 1 December 1981 to 4 December 1989. On 6 July 2017, Hau attended an academic meeting in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

about the history of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

, making him the first former ROC premier to visit Mainland China since the end of the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

in 1949. He turned 100 in August 2019.

Biography

Born to a well-to-do family in

Yancheng Yancheng () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. As the city with the largest jurisdictional area in Jiangsu, Yancheng borders Lianyungang to the north, Huai'an to the west, Yangzhou and Tai ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

, on 8 August 1919, Hau received a military education from the

Republic of China Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China ...

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the War College, Armed Forces University. Hau was appointed an artillery officer in 1938, and served in the Chinese expeditionary forces in India during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In the subsequent

he was a staff officer. As commander of the 9th Infantry Division from 1958 to 1961, Hau presided over the 44-day bombardment of Quemoy by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

. He commanded the 3rd Corps from 1963 to 1965 and served as Chief Aide to

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

from 1965 to 1970. He continued his army career as Commander of the 1st Field Army from 1970 to 1973, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the ROC Army from 1975 to 1977, Executive Vice Chief of the General Staff in the Ministry of National Defense from 1977 to 1978, Commander-in-Chief of the ROC Army 1978 to 1981, and Chief of the General Staff in the Ministry of National Defense from 1981 to 1989. whereas he received the instruction of President

Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...

to investigate the Lieyu Massacre in May 1987. He was a member of the Central Standing Committee of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

from 1984 to 1993 and served as Minister of National Defense from 1989 until 1990 when he was appointed Premier. He was appointed by President

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under Constitution of the Republic of China, the 1947 C ...

in part to mollify the conservative mainlander faction within the KMT that had threatened to run a rival presidential ticket in the March 1990 election. Hau's appointment sparked protests by those who believed it marked retrogression toward military rule, while President Lee defended his decision by saying he valued Hau's tough stance on crime. As premier he held high approval ratings (even higher than Lee's)—he was tough on crime and promoted a multibillion-dollar economic development plan to industrialize Taiwan. Hau submitted his resignation in January 1993 after the KMT's poor showing in the 1992

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

election. Appointed as one of four vice-chairmen of the KMT in the 14th Party Congress (immediately following the defection of the

New Kuomintang Alliance The New Kuomintang Alliance () was a faction of Kuomintang in the Republic of China (Taiwan), active late 20th century. Composed of mainly younger mainlanders, this faction was in favor of intraparty reform. It accused President Lee Teng-hui of a ...

) in another effort by Lee to pacify the mainlander faction, Hau served from 1993 to 1995. He was expelled from the Kuomintang for his support of New Party candidates in the 1995 legislative elections, and was named Lin Yang-kang's running mate in the 1996 presidential election. Hau rejoined the KMT in 2005.

Personal life

He married Kuo Wan-hua and had two sons and three daughters. One of his sons is politician

Hau Lung-pin Hau Lung-pin (; born 22 August 1952) is a Taiwanese politician. As a member of the New Party, he was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995, and resigned his seat to lead the Environmental Protection Administration in 2001. Hau stepped down f ...

, the former chairman of the New Party, and former Mayor of Taipei. Kuo Wan-hua died on 12 September 2018, aged 96. Hau was baptized as a Christian on 31 December 2017. Hau Pei-tsun died of multiple organ failure at

Tri-Service General Hospital The Tri-Service General Hospital (TSGH; ) is a medical center in Neihu District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is the teaching hospital of the National Defense Medical Center. History The hospital was originally established in 1946 as 801 Army General Ho ...

on 30 March 2020, aged 100. He was posthumously awarded a presidential citation.

References

Citations

Sources

* Denny Roy, ''Taiwan: A Political History'' (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2003)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hau, Pei-tsun 1919 births 2020 deaths Anti-Japanese sentiment in Taiwan Chinese military personnel of World War II Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College Politicians from Yancheng Premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan Republic of China Army generals Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Generals from Jiangsu Republic of China Military Academy alumni Chinese Civil War refugees Taiwanese people from Jiangsu Taiwanese Protestants Taiwanese centenarians Men centenarians Deaths from multiple organ failure