Lei Chen (; 8 July 1897 – 7 March 1979) was a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
politician and dissident who was the early leading figure in the movement to bring fuller democracy to the government of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
.
Born in
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
in 1897, Lei was educated at
Kyoto Imperial University
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture
, established =
, type = Public (National)
, endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to disting ...
in Japan. His early political career included posts as the secretary-general of the and .
He also served on the
Control Yuan
The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Prior to constitutional reforms in the 1990s, the Control Yuan, along with National Assembly (electoral college) and the Legislative ...
, as minister without portfolio, and presidential adviser.
Lei Chen helped found and produce the periodical ''
Free China'', published beginning in 1950. Lei was expelled from the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
in 1954. Six years later, he founded the China Democratic Party with
Hsu Shih-hsien and
Huang Hua
Huang Hua (; ; January 25, 1913 – November 24, 2010) was a senior Communist Chinese revolutionary, politician, and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister of China from 1976 to 1982, and concurrently as Vice Premier from 1980 to 1982. He was i ...
, among others. Shortly thereafter, Lei was charged with sedition and jailed. The charges are widely regarded as having been falsified by the Taiwan government and its then-ruling party the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
in response to Lei Chen's criticisms.
He was released in 1970 and died on 7 March 1979, aged 82. He was married to
Sung Ying, who had also served on the Control Yuan. Lei was posthumously 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 ...
in May 2019.
References
External links
Lei Zhen Papers Acquired by Hoover Institution Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lei, Chen
1897 births
1979 deaths
Taiwanese activists
Taiwanese prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of Taiwan
Politicians from Huzhou
Taiwanese journalists
Writers from Huzhou
Taiwanese people from Zhejiang
Expelled members of the Kuomintang
Taiwanese Members of the Control Yuan
Government ministers of Taiwan
Senior Advisors to President Chiang Kai-shek
Taiwanese political party founders
Republic of China politicians from Zhejiang
20th-century Taiwanese politicians
20th-century journalists
Taiwanese politicians convicted of crimes
People convicted of sedition