Pang Chien-kuo

Pang Chien-kuo
Pang Chien-kuo during the 2000s
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2002 – 31 January 2005
ConstituencyTaipei City Constituency II
Member of the Taipei City Council
In office
25 December 1992 – 31 January 2002
Personal details
Born(1953-08-19)19 August 1953
Miaoli County, Taiwan
Died11 January 2022(2022-01-11) (aged 68)
Neihu District, Taiwan
Political partyNP (1994–1998)
Independent (1998–2000)
PFP (2001–2006)
Kuomintang (2006–2022)
EducationNational Chung Hsing University (BS)
National Taiwan University (MA)
Brown University (MA, PhD)
Pang Chien-kuo
Traditional Chinese龐建國
Simplified Chinese庞建国

Pang Chien-kuo (Chinese: 龐建國; pinyin: Páng Jiànguó; 19th of August 1953 – 11th of January 2022) was a renowned Taiwanese politician.

Education[edit]

Pang earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from National Chung Hsing University in 1975 and a master's degree in law from National Taiwan University in 1980.[1] Pang obtained a Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University in 1988 under the guidance of Peter B. Evans. His dissertation is titled The State and Economic Transformation: The Taiwan Case.[2]

Career[edit]

Before pursuing political office, Pang was an associate researcher within Academia Sinica's Institute of Ethnology.[1] A member of the New Party, the People First Party, and later Kuomintang, he served in the Taipei City Council from 1992 to 2002 and in the Legislative Yuan from 2002 to 2005.[1][3] He contested the 2004 legislative election as a PFP candidate,[4] and did not win. In 2004, Pang spoke for the family of Lien Chan regarding a decision on legal action against Next Magazine.[5] During that year's presidential election, Pang was spokesman for the Kuomintang and People First Party's fusion ticket.[6]

After stepping down from the legislature, Pang served as an adviser to the Straits Exchange Foundation,[7] subsequently accepting a professorship at Chinese Culture University, within the Graduate Institute of National Development and Mainland China.[8] Pang was later appointed director-general of the Taiwan Competitiveness Forum.[9][10]

He was well known for his efforts for promoting Chinese unification.[11]

Personal life and death[edit]

Pang was of Cantonese descent, with family origin in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province.[12][13] His grandfather was a member of Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary society Tongmenghui and participated in the Yellow Flower Mound Uprising. His father was a graduate of Whampoa Military Academy and participated in the Northern Expedition and the Anti-Japanese War.[14][12][15] Because of his family background, Pang was strongly attached to Sun Yat-sen's philosophy on building a modern China.[15]

He married news anchor Chiu Hsiu-chen [zh] in 2001.[16] He died from a fall from his home in Neihu District on 11 January 2022 at 7am, at the age of 68.[16][17] A few hours before his death, Pang left a message three times in his LINE group and the same message in his WeChat groups, saying "I would rather die than live in this unjust Taiwan!"[16][18] Worried about the hardships of the people and the future of Taiwan, he had been deeply saddened by the huge defeats of the KMT in the referendum a month earlier and in the recall election of Freddy Lim and legislator by-election two days earlier, and had been distraught by the on-going de-Sinicization pushed forward by the ruling DPP.[19] Prior to his death, Pang had been diagnosed with cancer.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Pang Chien-kuo (5)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  2. ^ Pang, Chien-kuo (1992). The State and Economic Transformation: The Taiwan Case. Garland Publishing. ISBN 9780815306351. ProQuest 8822578. Alternate URL
  3. ^ "前立委龐建國墜樓身亡 享壽68歲". Central News Agency (in Chinese). 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  4. ^ Hong, Caroline (3 December 2004). "PFP candidate stages 'hunger strike' outside KMT HQ". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  5. ^ Ko, Shu-ling (16 January 2004). "Lien Chan's eldest daughter reacts to allegations in 'Next'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  6. ^ Williams, Martin; Su, Joy (23 March 2004). "Pan-blue poster likens Chen to bin Laden, Saddam". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  7. ^ Ko, Shu-ling (27 October 2008). "SEF still has a role to play, forum argues". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  8. ^ Gerber, Abraham (26 January 2016). "Forum calls on Tsai to support '1992 consensus'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  9. ^ Hsu, Stacy (7 January 2017). "Academics assess KMT failures". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  10. ^ Chung, Jake (30 November 2017). "2018 Local Elections: Ko leading race for next year's Taipei mayoral vote: poll". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  11. ^ "龐建國逝世 陸台盟中央表達深切哀悼". China Times (in Chinese). 13 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  12. ^ a b "马英九挚友庞建国纵身一跳震惊台湾 12字遗言是死谏也是深沉的绝望". Netease (in Chinese). 13 January 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  13. ^ Wu, Debby (27 September 2003). "Hakkas unite against Hokkien". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  14. ^ "哥哥爸爸真偉大! 立委拉票激動飆淚". TVBS (in Chinese). 12 November 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  15. ^ a b 罗鼎钧 Luo Dingjun (21 January 2022). "【台岛夜话】忆恩师庞建国教授". Huaxia Jingwei (in Chinese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  16. ^ a b c d Huang, Li-yun; Evelyn, Kao (11 January 2022). "Former KMT lawmaker Pang Chien-kuo dies after suspected suicide". Central News Agency. Retrieved 9 February 2022. Republished as:"Former KMT lawmaker dies in suspected suicide". Taipei Times. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  17. ^ "快訊/68歲國民黨前立委龐建國 驚傳在內湖住家墜樓身亡". ETtoday.net (in Chinese). 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  18. ^ "龐建國12字訣別「不公不義的台灣,我生不如死!」 | 龐建國墜樓身亡 | 要聞 | 聯合新聞網". China Times (in Chinese). 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  19. ^ "龐建國墜樓身亡兩岸學界同悲 幕僚發文:帶著悲憤離世". China Times (in Chinese). 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.