Roger Hsieh or Hsieh Tsung-min (; 2 May 1934 – 8 September 2019) was a Taiwanese politician and lawyer. He won election 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 1992 and 1995; he ran again unsuccessfully in 1998 and 2001.

Education and activism

Hsieh attended Taichung First High School, studied law at

National Taiwan 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 university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

alongside , and completed graduate work in political science at

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subsequently reestablished in 1954 in Taiwan as the first reestablished "National University". The u ...

. While studying at National Taiwan University, Hsieh, Wei and legal academic

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 ...

printed 10,000 copies of the "," a manifesto advocating the overthrow of 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 ...

one-party state. The three were promptly arrested; Hsieh was subject to torture. Hsieh and Wei were later released but did not play a role in their mentor's escape to Sweden, though the government suspected the pair of aiding Peng. Hsieh and Wei were jailed for a second time in 1971. For his support of democracy, Hsieh spent over eleven years behind bars. Following his release, Hsieh spent seven years in the United States, and returned to Taiwan in 1986. at

Chiang Kai-shek International Airport Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Traditional Chinese: 臺灣桃園國際機場) is the main international airport serving Taiwan, particularly the northern region and Taipei. Located in Dayuan District, Dayuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, ...

on 30 November 1986 to show support for Hsieh and fellow dissident

Hsu Hsin-liang Hsu Hsin-liang (; born 27 May 1941) is a Taiwanese politician, formerly Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He was a supporter of the Pan-Blue Coalition from 2000 to 2008 but then supported the DPP in the 2008 presidential elect ...

. Barred from entry into Taiwan on that day, the two explored alternative means of getting into the country and eventually succeeded. In December 2018, Hsieh was exonerated by the

Transitional Justice Commission The Transitional Justice Commission (TJC; ) was an independent government agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan) active from 31 May 2018 to 30 May 2022 based on the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice. The commission is responsible for the in ...

Political career

Another NTU classmate,

member

Shih Chi-yang Shih Chi-yang ( ; 5 May 1935 – 5 May 2019) was a Taiwanese lawyer and politician. He was Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1988 to 1993 and convener of the Executive Yuan's Mainland Affairs Committee, which was established in 198 ...

, aided Hsieh's early political career. With the support of

Huang Hsin-chieh Huang Hsin-chieh (; 20 August 1928 – 30 November 1999) was a Taiwanese politician, Taipei city council member, National Assembly representative, Legislative Yuan legislator, publisher of ''Formosa Magazine'' and Taiwan Political Theory magazi ...

, Hsieh was elected to the

in 1992 and 1995, though he lost election in 1998. During his legislative tenure, Hsieh attempted to pass bills regarding compensation to victims of the

White Terror White Terror may refer to: Events France * First White Terror (1794–1795), a movement against the Jacobins in the French Revolution * Second White Terror (1815), a movement against the French Revolution Post-Russian Empire * White Terror (Rus ...

like himself. According to legislative inquires launched by Hsieh, the White Terror period saw over 29,000 people tried in court. Subsequently, Hsieh was named an adviser to President

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...

. While serving in this position, Hsieh spent much of his time investigating the La Fayette-class frigate bribery scandal. As a result of Hsieh's probe, Andrew Wang, an accused arms dealer, filed a lawsuit against him in August 2001, an action that was later reviewed by the

Control Yuan The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China, both during its time in mainland China and Taiwan. Designed as a hybrid of auditor and ombudsman by Taiwanese law, the Control Yuan holds th ...

. Hsieh resigned as presidential adviser in 2001 to run in that year's legislative elections.

Death

Hsieh died in a hospital in

New Taipei New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

on 8 September 2019, aged 85. Republished as

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hsieh, Roger 1934 births 2019 deaths Prisoners and detainees of Taiwan Taiwanese democracy activists Taiwanese prisoners and detainees Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Taiwanese revolutionaries National Taiwan University alumni National Chengchi University alumni Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan Members of the 3rd Legislative Yuan Changhua County Members of the Legislative Yuan Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Senior advisors to President Chen Shui-bian Taiwanese expatriates in the United States