Henry Hsu (; 6 December 1912 – 3 February 2009) was a Taiwanese athlete and politician. Hsu was born in

Hua County Hua County or Huaxian () is a county under the administration of Anyang City, in the north of Henan province, China. Its predecessor administrative area Huazhou/Hua prefecture was first established in 596 during the Sui dynasty. In 606 it was ...

and had planned to follow his parents into the medical field, until his mother's death in a hotel fire when Hsu was eighteen.Alt URL
/ref> Upon graduation from

Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China ...

, Hsu pursued legal studies in Shanghai. He represented the Republic of China at the

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

and

1934 Far Eastern Championship Games The 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games was the tenth edition of the regional multi-sport event, contested between China, Japan and the Philippines, and was held from 16 to 20 May in Manila, the Philippines. A total of eight sports were contested d ...

, as a volleyball player and footballer, respectively. Hsu also competed as a swimmer and water polo player. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Hsu served in the

Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN; ), also called the ROC Navy and colloquially the Taiwan Navy, is the maritime branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF). The service was formerly commonly just called the Chinese Navy during World Wa ...

. At the time of the

Battle of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...

, he was a Lieutenant-Commander and aide-de-camp to Admiral

Chan Chak Andrew Chan Chak (; 2 April 1894 – 31 August 1949) was a Chinese admiral of the Republic of China Navy, best known for his role in a breakout in five Royal Navy torpedo boats from the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941. ...

. Hsu played a key role in saving Admiral Chan's life during a dramatic breakout in five small torpedo boats on Christmas Day 1941, which saved a total of sixty eight British, Chinese and Danish intelligence, naval and marine personnel from the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...

; for this feat he was made an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1942. Hsu retired from duty with the rank of Rear Admiral. He then owned hotels in Hong Kong, soon expanding operations to Taiwan when he moved there in 1982, and later to the United States in 1992. He was a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

from 1970 to 1988, and led the Republic of China Olympic Committee from 1973 to 1974. Hsu was first appointed 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 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

in 1972 and served until 1987. Upon stepping down from the legislature, he was named a national policy adviser to President

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

, and also served Chiang's successor

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...

until 2000. Alongside his position as an adviser, Hsu served a nearly concurrent term as president of the

Red Cross Society of the Republic of China The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China (Taiwan) () is the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The society is not recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) because it does not meet all the condit ...

from 1988 to 2000. He died of heart failure at the age of 96 in 2009, while being treated for uremia and pneumonia at

Taipei Veterans General Hospital Taipei Veterans General Hospital () is a national first-class medical center and a teaching hospital that provides tertiary patient care, undergraduate medical education programs and residency programs in Taiwan. It was founded in 1958 and admin ...

. His funeral was held on 16 March, with

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...

Liu Chao-shiuan Liu Chao-shiuan (; born 10 May 1943) is a Taiwanese educator and politician. He is a former president of the National Tsing Hua University (1987–1993) and Soochow University (2004–2008) and a former Premier of the Republic of China (2008– ...

Wang Jin-pyng Wang Jin-pyng (; born March 17, 1941) is a Taiwanese politician. He served as President of the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2016, which makes him Taiwan's longest-serving legislative speaker. Once a leading figure of the Kuomintang (KMT), Wang ...

Wu Ching-kuo Wu Ching-kuo (; born October 18, 1946) was the president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), a post he held from 2006 to 2017. He resigned from his position in November 2017. Having been a member of the International Olympic Committ ...

, and Chi Cheng in attendance.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hsu, Henry 1912 births 2009 deaths Taiwanese sportsperson-politicians Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Chinese male water polo players Chinese men's volleyball players Footballers from Guangzhou Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Taiwanese people from Guangdong Swimmers from Guangzhou Republic of China Navy officers Honorary Officers of the Order of the British Empire Senior Advisors to President Chiang Ching-kuo Senior Advisors to President Lee Teng-hui Chinese military personnel of World War II Whampoa Military Academy alumni Taiwanese hoteliers Red Cross personnel 20th-century Taiwanese businesspeople 21st-century Taiwanese businesspeople Association footballers not categorized by position Taiwanese footballers Politicians from Guangzhou Volleyball players from Guangdong People from Huadu District