2023 in Taiwan explained

Events from the year 2023 in Taiwan, Republic of China. This year is numbered Minguo 112 according to the official Republic of China calendar.

Incumbents

• President: Tsai Ing-wen
• Vice President: Lai Ching-te
• Premier: Su Tseng-chang, Chen Chien-jen
• Vice Premier: Shen Jong-chin, Cheng Wen-tsan

Events

• 8 January – Taipei legislative by-election^[1]
• 4 March – Nantou legislative by-election.^[2]
• 26 March – Hondouras terminated diplomatic relations with the ROC.^[3]
• 27 March – Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou becomes the first Taiwanese leader to visit mainland China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, meeting with China's Taiwan Affairs Office deputy chair Chen Yuanfeng in Shanghai. Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party criticized this visit as "endorsing" China's position on Taiwan.^[4]
• 20 June – . Teachers at a kindergarten in New Taipei City are accused of sedating students with cough syrups containing drugs like benzodiazepines and phenobarbital. The scandal has sparked protests outside government buildings, with parents demanding answers. In May, parents at a private school in the area had accused staff of feeding their children ‘unknown drugs.’ This is after they noticed what appeared to be withdrawal symptoms in their children.^[5]
• 10 September – Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen restores the reputations of victims of the White Terror repression, which was carried out by the Republic of China government from the 1940s to the 1980s. The ceremony, held in Taipei, marked the first nationwide event that addresses crimes committed during the White Terror.^[6]
• 22 September – Six people are killed, more than 100 others are injured, and three are missing after a fire and subsequent explosions at a golf ball factory in Pingtung County.^[7]

Deaths

• 1 January – Kuo Nan-hung, 86, Taiwanese politician, minister of transportation and communications (1987–1990) and president of the National Chiao Tung University (1979–1987).^[8]
• 6 January – Shen Lyu-shun, 73, Taiwanese diplomat.^[9]
• 27 January – Ting Chiang, 86, Taiwanese actor (Four Loves, The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful).^[10]
• 30 January – Ting Pang-hsin, 88, Taiwanese linguist.^[11]
• 5 February
  • Hsing Yun, 95, Taiwanese Buddhist monk (Fo Guang Shan).^[12]
  • Chu Yun-han, 67, Taiwanese political scientist, rectal cancer.^[13]
• 16 February – Chen Yu-an, 28, Taiwanese rower (Dragon boat at the 2018 Asian Games).^[14]
• 4 March –, 72, Taiwanese opera singer, fall.^[15]
• 25 March – Yang Bing-yi, 96, Taiwanese restaurateur, (Din Tai Fung). (death announced on this date)^[16]
• 14 April – Hsu Su-yeh, 89, Taiwanese politician, MLY (1999–2002).^[17]
• 22 April – Ju Ming, 85, Taiwanese sculptor, suicide.^[18]
• 10 May –, 52, Taiwanese legal scholar, crushed by train.^[19]
• 26 May – Lin Wenyue, 89, Taiwanese writer and translator.^[20]
• 9 May – Moon Fun Chin, 110, Taiwanese-American aviator and supercentenarian.^[21]
• 20 June – Phyllis Gomda Hsi, 85, Taiwanese lieder singer and music professor.^[22]
• 26 June – Liang Chao-chen (梁朝臣), 55, Taiwanese restaurateur.^[23]
• 3 August – 86, Taiwanese independence activist.
• 14 August –, 77, Taiwanese independence activist.^[24]
• 3 September –, 92, Taiwanese publisher and activist.^[25]
• 4 September –, 79, Taiwanese conductor, multiple organ failure.^[26]
• 27 September – Wang Wen-hsing, 84, Taiwanese writer.^[27]
• 1 November – Chen Wei-ling, 48, Taiwanese director (Autumn's Concerto, Year of the Rain, Mom, Don't Do That!).^[28]
• 6 November – Simon Sze, 87, Taiwanese–American electrical engineer (Floating-gate MOSFET).^[29]
• 18 November
  • , 58, Taiwanese cartoonist, theater director, and television host.^[30]
  • Shi Wen-long, 95, Taiwanese company and museum founder (Chi Mei Corporation, Chimei Museum).^[31]
• 3 December – Ma Sen, 91, Taiwanese playwright and literary critic.^[32]
• 6 December – Yang Ching-shun, 45, Taiwanese pool player, cancer.^[33]
• 14 December
  • Liu Ho-chien, 97, Taiwanese admiral.^[34]
  • Chen Wen-hui, 80, Taiwanese politician, MLY (1996–1999), liver cancer.^[35]
• 28 December – Chok-Yung Chai, 96, Taiwanese physician, member of Academia Sinica.^[36]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Legislative by-election to fill Chiang's slot slated for Jan. 8: CEC . 2023-01-03 . Central News Agency. 18 November 2022 .
2. News: By-election for Nantou legislative seat scheduled for March 4 . 2023-01-05 . Central News Agency.
3. News: Yeh . Joseph . Taiwan, Honduras end diplomatic ties (update). 27 March 2023 . Central News Agency . 26 March 2023.
4. Web site: Ex-Taiwan leader visits China, first such trip since civil war . 2023-04-07 . www.aljazeera.com . en.
5. News: Taiwan kindergarten druggings spark alarm among island's parents . BBC.
6. Web site: 2023-09-10 . Tsai exonerates White Terror victims - Taipei Times . 2023-09-11 . www.taipeitimes.com.
7. News: 2023-09-23 . 'I couldn't say anything to comfort victims': Death toll in Taiwan golf ball fire climbs to nine, with 100 injured . en-AU . ABC News . 2023-09-24.
8. Web site: 民間全民電視公司 . 2023-01-02 . 快新聞／確診併發急性心肌炎 前交通部長郭南宏辭世享壽87歲 . 2023-01-05 . . zh-Hant.
9. News: Liu . Kuan-ting . Chao . Yen-hsiang . Former Taiwan representative to U.S. Shen Lyu-shun dies . 6 January 2023 . Focus Taiwan . 6 January 2023.
10. News: Yeh . Kuan-yin . Lo . James . Award-winning actor Ting Chiang dies at 86 . 2 February 2023 . Central News Agency . 28 January 2023. Republished in part as: News: Ting Chiang dies aged 86 . 2 February 2023 . Taipei Times.
11. News: Pang-Hsin Ting . 13 September 2023 . Legacy.com . 2 February 2023.
12. News: Tsai . Meng-yu . Tseng . Yi-ning . Mazzetta . Matthew . Fo Guang Shan founder Hsing Yun dies at 95 . 9 February 2023 . Central News Agency . 6 February 2023. Republished as: News: Fo Guang Shan founder Hsing Yun dies aged 95 . Taipei Times . 7 February 2023.
13. News: Academician Yun-han Chu Has Passed Away . 12 September 2023 . Academia Sinica . 9 February 2023.
14. News: Yeh . Chen . Hsu . Elizabeth . Asian Games medalist dies after falling into construction shaft . 20 February 2023 . Central News Agency . 16 February 2023.
15. News: Taiwan news quick take: Opera singer dies at 72 . 24 June 2023 . Taipei Times . 6 March 2023.
16. News: Yu . Hsiao-han . Lin . Sean . Din Tai Fung founder dies at 96 . 27 March 2023 . Central News Agency . 25 March 2023.
17. News: 從政逾30年！前立委許素葉家中辭世　享耆壽90歲 . 28 October 2024 . SET News . 16 April 2023 . zh.
18. News: Huang . Li-yun . Liu . Shih-yi . Lo . James . Famed Taiwanese sculptor dead at 85 from apparent suicide . 7 May 2023 . Central News Agency . 23 April 2023. Republished as: News: Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming dies at 85 by apparent suicide . 7 May 2023 . Taipei Times . 24 April 2023.
19. News: Huang . Guo-fang . Chao . Li-yen . Liu . Shih-yi . Chang . Hsiung-feng . Chen . Chun-hua . Tsai . Chih-ming . Lo . James . Legal scholar who died in Taichung MRT accident remembered as spirited advocate . 3 September 2023 . Central News Agency . 11 May 2023.
20. News: Wang . Pao-er . Yang . Evelyn . Renowned author Lin Wen-yue dies at 89 . 27 May 2023 . Central News Agency . 26 May 2023. Republished as: News: Taiwanese author Lin Wen-yue dies in US at age 89 . 28 May 2023 . Taipei Times . Central News Agency . 28 May 2023.
21. News: 曾載過杜立德、蔣介石！「航空教父」陳文寬逝世 享嵩壽110歲 . 11 May 2023 . Liberty Times . 11 May 2023.
22. News: Chao . Ching-yu . Lo . James . Esteemed Taiwanese 'lieder' vocalist and music professor dies at 85 . 23 June 2023 . Central News Agency . 22 June 2023.
23. News: Wu . Jeffrey . Hung . Hsueh-kuang . Kao . Evelyn . Old Sichuan hotpot restaurant chain founder dies at 55 . 27 June 2023 . Central News Agency . 28 June 2023.
24. News: Chin . Jonathan . Prominent independence figures pass away . 27 August 2023 . Taipei Times . 27 August 2023.
25. News: Wang . Yang-yu . Lu . Tyson . Chiu . Tsu-yin . Lo . James . White Terror activist and publisher Tsai Kun-lin dies at 92 . 5 September 2023 . Central News Agency . 4 September 2023. and News: Chen . Chia-yi . Hetherington . William . Human rights activist Tsai Kun-lin dies at the age of 93 . 5 September 2023 . Taipei Times . 5 September 2023.
26. News: Chao . Ching-yu . Liu . Kay . Taiwan performing arts promoter, composer Hsu Po-yun dies at age 79 . 5 September 2023 . Central News Agency . 4 September 2023. Republished as: News: Composer, promoter Hsu Po-yun dies aged 79 . 6 September 2023 . Taipei Times . 6 September 2023.
27. News: Chiu . Tzu-yin . Mazzetta . Matthew . Taiwanese novelist Wang Wen-hsing dies at 84 . Central News Agency . 4 October 2023 . 3 October 2023.
28. News: Yeh . Kuan-yin . Ko . Lin . Acclaimed Taiwanese director Chen Wei-ling dies at 48 . 3 November 2023 . 2 November 2023. Republished as: News: Award-winning TV drama director passes away . 3 November 2023 . Taipei Times . 3 November 2023.
29. Web site: Simon Sze Obituary (1936–2023) - Walnut Creek, CA - San Francisco Chronicle . 8 November 2023 . Legacy.com.
30. News: Wang . Pao-er . Yang . Evelyn . Taiwanese artist Loïc Hsiao dies at 58 . 19 November 2023 . Central News Agency . 18 November 2023.
31. News: Lai . Yen-hsi . Hsiao . Alison . Taiwan's Chimei Group founder dies at 95 . 18 November 2023 . Central News Agency . 18 November 2023.
32. News: Chao . Ching-yu . Wu . Kuan-hsien . Culture Ministry mourns learned writer and playwright Ma Sen . 5 January 2024 . Central News Agency . 5 January 2024.
33. News: Yeh . Joseph . Legendary Taiwanese pool player Yang Ching-shun dies at 45 . 6 December 2023 . Central News Agency . 6 December 2023.
34. News: Liu Ho-chien dies at 97 . 15 December 2023 . Taipei Times . 15 December 2023.
35. News: 華陶窯主陳文輝辭世 文化部長史哲表達哀悼與追思 . 17 December 2023 . Radio Taiwan International . 15 December 2023.
36. News: Academician Chok-Yung Chai Has Passed Away . 29 October 2024 . Academia Sinica . 3 January 2024.