Fei Hsi-ping (; 1916–2003) was a Chinese-born politician who served in the

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 1990.

Political career

Born in

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

in 1916, Fei attended

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

. He was elected to the

as a representative of his home province in 1948. Fei became a close friend and defender of 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 ...

during Taiwan's years as an authoritarian, single-party state. Fei's association with Lei cost the former his

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 ...

membership, which was revoked in 1960. Fei began actively campaigning for the opposition after the

Kaohsiung Incident The Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, the Meilidao Incident, or the ''Formosa Magazine'' incident,tang was a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations that occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 10 December 1979 during Taiwa ...

in 1979, and, over time began drifting nearer to 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 ...

. In 1981, Fei proposed the State Security Bill written to lift

martial law in Taiwan Martial law in Taiwan () refers to the periods in the history of Taiwan after World War II, during control by the Republic of China Armed Forces of the Kuomintang-led regime. The term is specifically used to refer to the over 38-year-long c ...

. Despite supporting Taiwan's right to self determination in 1982, two years later Fei proposed that Taipei and Beijing form one political entity called the "Federation of Great China" in an effort to give the Republic of China a voice in the United Nations. He played a large role in the founding of the

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 ...

, and although he lost its first chairmanship election to

Chiang Peng-chien Chiang Peng-chien (; 25 April 1940 – 15 December 2000) was a Taiwanese politician who was a co-founder and the first chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party. Chiang was elected a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1983 and became a me ...

, Fei was elected to the party's inaugural Central Standing Committee. Fei's State Security Bill was reconsidered in 1987, and when it was replaced by another proposal, the National Security Law, instead, some DPP members protested, with Fei himself leading objections to the protest. Martial law was lifted by order of

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 ...

on 15 July 1987. Throughout his political career, Fei remained opposed to

Taiwan independence Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of Chi ...

. Fei was often the mediator between the DPP and KMT, and continually issued calls for the parties to work together. The DPP continued to push for independence and legislative reform, and over these disagreements, Fei left the party in 1988, resigning his legislative seat in 1990. He later moved to the United States, and died of heart failure in Los Angeles on 21 February 2003, at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fei, Hsi-ping 1916 births 2003 deaths Taiwanese emigrants to the United States Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Republic of China politicians from Liaoning Taiwanese people from Liaoning National University of Peking alumni Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Taiwanese political party founders Politicians from Shenyang Taiwanese activists for Chinese unification