Sun Yun-suan (; 10 November 1913 – 15 February 2006) was a Chinese engineer and politician. As minister of economic affairs from 1969 to 1978 and

Premier of the Republic of China The Premier of the Republic of China, officially the President of the Executive Yuan (Chinese: 行政院院長), is the head of the government of the Republic of China of Taiwan and leader of the Executive Yuan. The premier is nominally the p ...

from 1978 to 1984, he was credited for overseeing the transformation of

Taiwan 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 northe ...

from being a mainly agricultural economy to an export powerhouse.

Early life and engineering career

Born in Penglai, Shandong, he earned his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the

Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin Institute of Technology (; abbreviation: HIT or ) is a public research university and a member of China's elite C9 League and a member of the University Alliance of the Silk Road. HIT is a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Doub ...

in 1934. From 1937 to 1940 he was an engineer at the National Resources Commission and worked at a government-run power station in

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

province, he earned fame and respect throughout China for disassembling and then transporting an electrical/power boiler, into Kuomintang territory in order to prevent the expensive equipment from falling into enemy Japanese hands. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

(from 1939 to 1945), he was sent by the National Resources Commission to train in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

as an engineer at the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

. In 1946, he was sent to Taiwan (which had just been handed over to the Nationalist Government from Japan following the Allied victory in

) to work at the Taiwan Power Company, a public utility. Managing a staff of several hundred, Sun was able to get 80% of the power network in Taiwan (destroyed during the war) restored in five months. At Taiwan Power Company, he was Head Engineer of the Electrical and Mechanical Department from 1946 to 1950, Chief Engineer from 1950 to 1962, and Vice President from 1953 to 1962. Due to his successes in Taiwan, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

sent him to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

as head of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria in 1964, which he served as CEO and General Manager until 1967. He increased Nigeria's power supply by 88%.

Government career

He returned to Taiwan and joined the ROC government as Minister of Communications in 1967. In 1969, he was transferred to become Minister of Economic Affairs and served until 30 May 1978 when he was promoted to Premier of the Republic of China. He is credited as one of the chief architects of Taiwan's "economic miracle" that led Taiwan to become one of the East Asian Tigers. It was during Sun's premiership the Ten Infrastructure Projects, including the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, the Number 1 Nuclear Power Plant, and the Sun Yat-sen National Expressway, were completed. Sun championed the establishment of high-technology industries that would later become the basis of the Taiwanese economy. He initiated the development of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (that would later give rise to numerous major semiconductor companies such as

TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semiconductor company, the world' ...

) and the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park which would serve as a major electronics and semiconductor manufacturing hub. Sun is also credited for transforming Taiwan's existing export industries, which were developed in the 1960s and centered on textiles, shoes, plastic toys, and agriculture, to the more sustainable fields of petrochemicals, machine tools, and electronics.

Later life

Sun was once regarded as heir apparent to

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

, but he suffered a stroke during a

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

interpellation session in 1984, ending his political career. Instead,

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 ...

became Chiang's heir apparent and ultimate successor. Sun resigned as premier on 20 May 1984 and was appointed to the largely honorary position of senior advisor to the

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had au ...

. After his stroke, Sun became a major advocate of health issues such as the importance of monitoring high blood pressure for elderly people. He also campaigned against

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

. Another stroke left him needing to use a wheelchair for mobility. Nevertheless, Sun remained politically active in his later years and campaigned on behalf of KMT presidential candidate

Lien Chan Lien Chan (; born 27 August 1936) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government from 1990 to 1993, Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to ...

in the 2004 presidential election. He died at the age of 92 while hospitalized at the Veterans General Hospital 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 ...

as a result of

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ...

and

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is foll ...

. Sun was accorded the honour of a State funeral due to his tremendous contributions and hard work and determination for Taiwan, which was held on February 25. Then- DPP President

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whi ...

also attended his funeral. Sun’s ashes were interred at the Keelung Hsin Hsin Cemetery.

References

Taipei Times: Leaders bid farewell to SunTaiwan News: Taiwan bids farewell to economy's mastermindThe Irish Times: Architect of Taiwan's industrial revolutionChina Post: Nation bids farewell to ex-Premier Sun

External links

Sun Yun-suan Foundation 孫運璿學術基金會
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Yun-Suan 1913 births 2006 deaths Deaths from sepsis Infectious disease deaths in Taiwan Harbin Institute of Technology alumni Politicians from Yantai Premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan Senior Advisors to President Chiang Ching-kuo Senior Advisors to President Lee Teng-hui Republic of China politicians from Shandong Taiwanese Ministers of Economic Affairs Taiwanese Ministers of Transportation and Communications Taiwanese people from Shandong People from Penglai, Shandong Engineers from Shandong Expatriates in Nigeria Tennessee Valley Authority