Yu Teng-fa (; 21 September 1904 – 13 September 1989) was a Taiwanese politician. His family's influence in Kaohsiung began with his own political career. Yu's daughter in-law

Yu Chen Yueh-ying Yu Chen Yueh-ying (; 2 September 1926 – 26 May 2014) was a Taiwanese politician, judge and matriarch of the Yu family, a political family who dominated politics in the former Kaohsiung County for more than thirty years. (Kaohsiung County was me ...

succeeded his daughter Huang Yu Hsiu-luan in 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 ...

. Yu Teng-fa played a large role in Yu Chen's political career, and his grandchildren

Yu Lin-ya Yu Lin-ya (; born 29 June 1950) is a Taiwanese politician who served in the Legislative Yuan from 1993 to 1999. Yu was born in 1950, to the Yu family of Kaohsiung. Her grandfather, mother, and brothers were also politicians. Yu studied histor ...

, Yu Jane-daw, and

Yu Cheng-hsien Yu Cheng-hsien (; born 8 May 1959) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Minister of the Interior from 2002 to 2004. Political careers 2008 legislative election * All registered: 242,349 * Voters (turnout): 156,440 (64.55%) * Valid (percent ...

have also served in the Legislative Yuan. Born to a family of wealthy farmers, Yu Teng-fa began his political career in 1947, when he was elected a

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 ...

member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. He left the KMT in 1948, though he remained friends with party members, namely Chen Hsin-an. Yu succeeded Chen Chieh-hsing as Kaohsiung County magistrate in 1960. That same year, he founded the China Democratic Self Government Research Association. His followers were known as the "black faction." Yu was invited to join the

tangwai movement The ''Tangwai'' movement, or simply ''Tangwai'' (), was a loosely knit political movement in Taiwan in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Although the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) had allowed contested elections for a small number of seats in the Legi ...

for democratization, and he did so. However, he remained opposed to

Taiwanese independence 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 ...

, preferring unification with China. Yu yielded the Kaohsiung magistracy to Tai Liang-chin of Kaohsiung's "red faction" in 1963. The Kuomintang charged Yu with embezzlement, and he was jailed. Elections to the National Assembly and

were scheduled for December 1978, but postponed after the United States announced that it would soon diplomatically recognize the People's Republic of China. Yu protested the postponement of the elections, stating that the decision was unconstitutional, exposing the Kuomintang's penchant for relying on

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. In January 1979, he and his son Yu Jui-yen were arrested prior to a demonstration against the postponement of elections and formally charged with "knowing a Communist and not reporting it." Yu's arrest led to a large protest organized by

Hsu Hsin-liang Hsu Hsin-liang (; born 27 May 1941) is a Taiwanese politician, formerly Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He was a supporter of the Pan-Blue Coalition from 2000 to 2008 but then supported the DPP in the 2008 presidential elect ...

. The event became known as the and was the first political demonstration since martial law was enacted in May 1949. The January 1979 protest prompted Hsu's impeachment by 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 ...

, which in turn contributed to December's

Kaohsiung Incident The Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, the Meilidao Incident, or the ''Formosa Magazine'' incident,tang was a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations that occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 10 December 1979 during Taiwan's ...

. Yu's alleged collaborator, Wu Tai-an, also known as Wu Chun-fa, went to trial shortly after Yu's arrest. Proceedings against Yu Teng-fa and Yu Jui-yen began in March 1979, and were overseen by a military court of the

Taiwan Garrison Command The Taiwan Garrison Command () was a secret police/national security body which existed under the Republic of China Armed Forces on Taiwan. The agency was established at the end of World War II, and operated throughout the Cold War. It was di ...

. During his trial, Yu Teng-fa was represented by

Yao Chia-wen Yao Chia-wen (; born 15 June 1938) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the second chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), serving from 1987 to 1988. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1993 to 1996, and president of the Exam ...

. On 16 April 1979, Yu was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. In her memoir,

Annette Lu Annette Lu Hsiu-lien (; born 7 June 1944) is a Taiwanese politician. A feminist active in the tangwai movement, she joined the Democratic Progressive Party in 1990, and was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992. Subsequently, she served as Ta ...

wrote that the charges against Yu were "an elaborate frame up." Three years later, Yu was released on medical parole. In 1986, while serving as magistrate of Kaohsiung, Yu Teng-fa's daughter in-law

merged the "black faction" with the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

. On 13 September 1989, Yu Teng-fa was found dead at his home in Kaohsiung. He had been injured in the back of the head, and was lying in a supine position. In 1995, Kao Ming-hui, a retired deputy chief of the Investigation Bureau based in Kaohsiung, wrote that charges against Yu were fabricated by Kao's agency, additionally stating that Yu was mentally unstable and could not recognize the flag of the People's Republic of China when questioned.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Teng-fa 1904 births 1989 deaths Magistrates of Kaohsiung County Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan Taiwanese democracy activists Taiwanese prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Taiwan Yu family of Kaohsiung Taiwanese politicians convicted of crimes