Peter Wen-shiung Huang (, also known as Peter Ng;
born 2 October 1937) is a Taiwanese
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
for
democratization
Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...
and
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
.
Huang majored in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...
at the
National Chengchi University
National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei. The university is also considered as the earliest public service training facility of the Republic of China. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subs ...
in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
and then served in the military for two years. In 1964, he applied to the graduate program in
Sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
at the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
and studied there before transferring to a Ph.D. program at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
in 1966.
Assassination attempt
On April 24, 1970, Huang and his brother-in-law,
Cheng Tzu-tsai, both members of the
World United Formosans for Independence
The World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI) is an organization promoting Taiwan independence. It was established in 1970 by like-minded organizations in Canada, the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Taiwan. Its aim is to establish a Republic of ...
, were involved in the of then-Vice Premier
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 ...
(
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
's son) in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Huang approached Chiang with a gun at the
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...
, but a
Diplomatic Security Service
The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS or DS) is a security and law enforcement agency that acts as the operational division of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which is a branch of the United States Department of State. Its primary mission is ...
special agent pushed him out of the way, causing the bullet to strike the hotel's revolving doors.
The World United Formosans for Independence later issued a statement disclaiming involvement. He pleaded guilty in a 1971 trial to charges of attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm, but was granted bail before sentencing, and fled the United States. Cheng Tzu-tsai also jumped bail in 1971 after his conviction, fleeing to Sweden for asylum, but was extradited to the US in 1972, sentenced in 1973 to up to five years in prison and later served an additional prison term in Taiwan for illegal entry.
![Cheng Tzu-tsai and Peter Huang 2018-02-02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Cheng_Tzu-tsai_and_Peter_Huang_2018-02-02.jpg)
Aftermath
Huang's action is considered a stimulus for political reform in Taiwan, which promotes the role of
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may be generally considered the people of Taiwan who share a common culture, ancestry and speak Taiwanese Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka or indigenous Taiwanese languages as a mother tongue. Taiwanese people may also refer to the i ...
in the political arena. He was in hiding for 25 years, returning to Taiwan in 1996,
after Taiwan's statute of limitations had run out on further prosecution for the assassination attempt
as one of the last persons who had not been permitted to return to Taiwan for political reasons. Huang was prosecuted and served four months in jail for violating the 1987 National Security Law for illegal entry, since he did not have an entry visa when he returned to Taiwan in 1996.
In 1998, Huang became the director of the
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
The Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR; ) is a Taiwan based non-governmental organization which was established on International Human Rights Day, December 10, 1984. TAHR is the oldest independent human rights
Human rights are mo ...
. In 2000, he was appointed as
National Policy Advisor to the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
for human rights issues. He is also an avid supporter of the
Green Party Taiwan
Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. Although the party is sympathetic to Taiwan nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campaign ...
since its founding. Huang led
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
Taiwan from 2009 through 2013. In 2012, he was given an Alumni Excellence Award by the National Chengchi University for his lifelong commitment to democracy, freedom, and social movements.
Huang shouted “Let me stand up like a Taiwanese!” upon being arrested after the failed assassination attempt. This phrase was later referenced in the song title (無名英雄 Stand Up Like A Taiwanese) by rock band
Fire EX.
Fire Ex. () is a punk rock band from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, founded in 2000, which sings in both Taiwanese Hokkien and Mandarin Chinese. The group consists of Sam (vocals), Orio (guitar), Pipi (bass), and KG (drums). The band is known for their so ...
, as well as repeated several times at the end of the heavy metal song “Supreme Pain for the Tyrant” by
Chthonic
The word chthonic (), or chthonian, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''χθών, "khthon"'', meaning earth or soil. It translates more directly from χθόνιος or "in, under, or beneath the earth" which can be differentiated from Γῆ ...
.
See also
*
Taiwan independence movement
The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations.
Currently, Tai ...
*
Human rights in Taiwan
Taiwan is a Politics of the Republic of China, multi-party democracy. The 2000 Taiwan presidential election, 2000 presidential victory of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Chen Shui-bian followed more than 50 years of rule by the Kuomin ...
*
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...
*
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Peter
1937 births
Amnesty International people
Cornell University alumni
Failed assassins
National Chengchi University alumni
Living people
People from Hsinchu County
Taiwan independence activists
Taiwanese exiles
Taiwanese human rights activists
Taiwanese revolutionaries
University of Pittsburgh alumni