Or Hsieh or Hsieh Er ( zh, 謝娥; January 1918 – 1995) was a Taiwanese physician, educator and politician. The first female surgeon from Taiwan, she was also one of the first group of women elected to 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 ...

in 1948.

Biography

Hsieh was born in 1918 in Báng-kah, the second of four children of Hsieh Quan, who owned a restaurant. She attended Laosong Public School and Taihoku Prefectural Taihoku Third Girls' High School.Chiu-Min Lin (2011
The Rise and the Retreat of Hsieh Er on the Political Stage of Taiwan (1946-1949)
/ref> She graduated in April 1935 as the third-best student in her class, after which she attended Tokyo Women's Medical College, graduating with honours in April 1940. She subsequently became the first Taiwanese woman to work as a surgeon, joining

St. Luke's International Hospital is a general and teaching hospital located in the Akashicho district (adjacent to Tsukiji) in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. First opened in 1902, as a medical mission facility by the Episcopal Church in the United States, the hospital is now one of cent ...

in Tokyo.臺灣政壇第一位女將─謝娥（1918－1995
National Museum of Taiwan History She returned to Taiwan in 1943, becoming an assistant professor in the medical department of the

Taipei Imperial University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a national public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as Taihoku Imperial University (), the ...

. While working at the university, Hsieh began reading the works of

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

Ba Jin Li Yaotang ( zh, s=李尧棠, t=李堯棠, p=Lǐ Yáotáng; 25 November 1904 – 17 October 2005), better known by his pen name Ba Jin ( zh, s=巴金, t=巴金, p=Bā Jīn) or his courtesy name Li Feigan ( zh, s=李芾甘, t=李芾甘, p=Lǐ F� ...

and

Lao She Shu Qingchun (3 February 189924 August 1966), known by his pen name Lao She, was a Chinese writer of Manchu ethnicity, known for his vivid portrayal of urban life and his colorful use of the Beijing dialect, such as in the novel '' Rickshaw Boy' ...

. She began discussing anti-Japanese action with a group of five others in a temple in

Xizhi Xizhi () is an inner city district in eastern New Taipei City in northern Taiwan, and is located between Taipei City and Keelung City. Compared to most districts in eastern New Taipei, which are very sparsely populated, Xizhi is one of the mor ...

. However, they were arrested in 1944 and Hsieh was imprisoned and tortured. She was given the option of release as long as she co-operated with the Japanese authorities, but refused. She remained in prison until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After her release in September 1945, she opened the a surgical hospital in Taiping in November, providing free treatment for the poor. In 1945 she joined the

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 set up the Taipei Women's Association. In March 1946 she was elected to Taipei City Council, becoming its only female member. She was a member of Taipei City Party Affairs Planning Committee between August and October 1946. She was a representative of Taiwan at the 1946

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

that drew up the

Constitution of the Republic of China The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanking, and adopted on 25 De ...

.制憲國民大會與臺灣代表團
Taiwan Historica Her surgical practice was destroyed following the

February 28 incident The February 28 incident (also called the February 28 massacre, the 228 incident, or the 228 massacre) was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan in 1947 that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang–led nationalist government of the R ...

after she made a radio broadcast downplaying the violence. Hsieh contested the

1948 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1948. Previous: List of elections in 1947 Next: List of elections in 1949 Africa * 1948 Mauritian general election * 1948 South African general election * 1948 Southern Rhodesian general election As ...

to the

, becoming one of the first group of women elected to the Chinese legislature, and the candidate with the sixth-most votes. However, she steadily withdrew from legislative activities, and left Taiwan the following year, initially for France, before settling in the United States. She received a doctorate in public medicine from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, subsequently working at

Oregon State Hospital Oregon State Hospital is a public psychiatric hospital in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the state's capital city of Salem, Oregon, Salem with a smaller satellite campus in Junction City, Oregon, Junction City opened in 2014. Founded in ...

and the

New York State Department of Health The New York State Department of Health is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for public health. Its regulations are compiled in title 10 of the ''New York Codes, Rules and Regulations''. ...

, where she was deputy director. She returned to Taiwan in 1991 and died in 1995.續修臺北市志
人物志政治與經濟篇

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hsieh, Er 1918 births Women surgeons Taiwanese women physicians 20th-century Taiwanese educators Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan 20th-century Chinese women politicians Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Columbia University alumni Taiwanese expatriates in the United States 1995 deaths 20th-century Taiwanese physicians Taiwanese surgeons Taipei City Councilors Scientists from Taipei Academic staff of the National Taiwan University Taiwanese prisoners and detainees World War II prisoners of war held by Japan