Liang Su-yung (; 8 August 1920 – 27 August 2004) was a Taiwanese politician and lawyer with

CC Clique The CC Clique ( zh, c=CC派), or Central Club Clique ( zh, t=中央俱樂部組織), officially Ko-hsin Club ( zh, t=革新俱樂部) was one of the political factions within the Kuomintang (The Chinese Nationalist Party), in the Republic of Chin ...

membership who served in the first

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 four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

from 1948 to 1991. He was elevated to vice president of the parliament in 1988, and retired in 1991 as its leader. Prior to his political career, he worked as a human rights lawyer. Liang was a member of

, he was also regarded as the last leader of the CC Clique.

Life and career

Born in

Changtu County Changtu County () is a county in the northeast of Liaoning province, China, bordering Jilin to the northeast and Inner Mongolia in the northwest. It is under the administration of Tieling City, the downtown of which lies to the south-southwest, ...

in 1920, Liang graduated from National Changchun University with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and earned his

Legum Doctor Legum is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Colin Legum (1919–2003), British anti-apartheid activist * Judd Legum (born 1978), American journalist, lawyer, and political staffer * Margaret Legum (1933–2007), Brit ...

and

Doctor of Juridical Science A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate degree in law that is equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. In most countries, it is the most advanced law degree that can be earned. Australia ...

(S.J.D.) from Japan's

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

, after having studied at Changchun Law and Political University. In 1941, he became a prosecutor in

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

. In the midst of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, Liang became an intelligence operative based in northeastern China, feeding information within the Japanese-occupied territory to

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, the provincial capital of Chiang Kai-shek's

Nationalist government The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...

. Liang was arrested and taken as a Japanese prisoner of war in 1944. He was released upon Japanese surrender in 1945. The experience left a tremendous impression on Liang, who would make the cause of human rights a motif of his life's work. Liang was elected as a legislator for his home province of Liaoning in 1948 as hostilities between

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

and

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

forces resumed following the Japanese surrender. Liang followed Chiang to Taiwan after the KMT were driven off the mainland completely in 1949. Under martial law in Taiwan, Liang gained a reputation as a fierce defender of human rights and advocated non-violence with regards to the protest movement, in contrast to the more militarist wing of the KMT. He stepped forward in 1960 to defend pro-democracy activist

Lei Chen Lei Chen (; 8 July 1897 – 7 March 1979) was a Chinese people, Chinese politician and dissident who was the early leading figure in the movement to bring fuller democracy to the government of the Republic of China. Born in Zhejiang in 1897, Le ...

, who was charged with sedition for criticizing Chiang's regime. Liang's defense of Lei angered Chiang, who strongly considered Liang's expulsion from the Kuomintang. Despite this threat, Liang later defended

Peng Ming-min Peng Ming-min (; 15 August 19238 April 2022) was a Taiwanese democracy activist, advocate of Taiwan independence, legal scholar, and politician. Arrested for sedition in 1964 for printing a manifesto advocating democracy in his native Taiwan, h ...

, who stood accused of the same charges in 1964. After Chiang's death in 1975, Liang worked as a troubleshooter for the better part of a decade between Chiang's son,

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

, and the

Tangwai movement The ''Tangwai'' movement, or simply ''Tangwai'' (), was a loosely knit political movement in Taiwan in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Although the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) had allowed contested elections for a small number of seats in the Legis ...

as the government began to relax some controls on free speech and political dissent. Liang also took credit for persuading Chiang Ching-kuo to handle protests in a peaceful manner. Liang was one of the founding members of the

National Unification Council The National Unification Council was a nonstatutory governmental agency of the Republic of China on Taiwan established on 7 October 1990. Now defunct, its formal aim was to promote the reintegration of mainland China into the Republic of Chin ...

formed in 1990. In 1988, Liang Was elected as Vice President of the Legislative Yuan after defeating the military-backed hardline candidate

Chao Tzu-chi Chao Tzu-chi ( zh, c=趙自齊, p=Zhào Zìqí; February 14, 1915 – August 4, 2020) was a Chinese politician, athlete and novelist. He was a member of the Tsotanhui Clique of the Kuomintang. He served as leader of the Kuomintang caucus in Legi ...

, elected as president two years later. He was involved in a fight on the floor of the parliament that same year. It began when

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

legislator

Chang Chun-hsiung Chang Chun-hsiung (; born 23 March 1938) is a Taiwanese politician and lawyer who had served as the prime minister of Taiwan (officially Premier of the Executive Yuan) from 2000 to 2002 and 2007 to 2008, both under Chen Shui-bian's presidency. ...

hit Liang in the face, causing Liang to respond in kind. Liang was also injured by a glass thrown by

Ju Gau-jeng Ju Gau-jeng (; 6 October 1954 – 22 October 2021) was a Taiwanese lawyer and politician who served in the Legislative Yuan from 1987 to 1999. He was known for his combative personality, and helped found two political parties. Education Ju stu ...

. In addition to his position as a legislator, Liang was also a senior advisor to President

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; pinyin: ''Lǐ Dēnghuī''; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese politician and agricultural scientist who served as the fourth president of the Republic of China, president of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) unde ...

. After his retirement from politics, Liang became president of the Straits Peaceful Reunification Association. Personally, he continually pushed for

Chinese unification Chinese unification, also known as Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China ("China" or "Mainland China") and the Repub ...

, opposed Lee's policy of

Taiwanization Taiwanization ( zh, t=臺灣本土化運動), also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a conceptual term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a Taiwanese culture, society, economy, nationality, and identity rather than ...

, and repeatedly attempted to expel Lee from the Kuomintang. Liang died of anaphylactic shock caused by pneumonia at Cathay General Hospital in Taipei on 27 August 2004, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Su-yung Prisoners of war held by Japan Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan 1920 births 2004 deaths Republic of China politicians from Liaoning Chinese prisoners of war Meiji University alumni Military personnel of the Republic of China in the Second Sino-Japanese War Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan 20th-century Taiwanese lawyers Taiwanese presidents of the Legislative Yuan Deaths from pneumonia in Taiwan Deaths from anaphylaxis Senior advisors to President Lee Teng-hui Taiwanese people from Liaoning Human rights lawyers Politicians from Tieling Taiwanese activists for Chinese unification