Linda Arrigo
Encyclopedia
Linda Gail Arrigo is an American
–Taiwan
ese political activist, human rights activist, and academic researcher. She has been the international affairs officer of Green Party Taiwan
.
logistics officer who was assigned to the Military Assistance Advisory Group
(MAAG) in Taiwan. Arrigo attended Taipei American School and after graduation in 1966 as valedictorian returned to the U.S. in 1968 and received her undergraduate degree in 1972 from the University of California, San Diego
. She then attended Stanford University
and obtained a "terminal" masters degree in Anthropology
in 1976 after ideological disagreements with her advisors there.
Arrigo returned to Taiwan in 1977 to continue work on her doctorate research by studying the marriage and labor issues of Taiwanese women entering the workplace. Working with these women, and their families, would lead her to see Taiwan from their point-of-view and in the late 1970s she became active in human rights and opposition politics. She left behind in California her first husband, a Taiwanese-American surnamed Chen, and son Roger born 1969. She became a part of the 1978 campaign coalition that later evolved into the Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP), and in 1978 married a former political prisoner who in 1991 became the DPP chairman, Shih Ming-te (the couple formally divorced in June 1995 after Arrigo accused Shih of violating human rights principles in the party's international relations).
The following year, 1979, she was deported and then blacklisted from Taiwan, by James Soong
, then head of the Government Information Office, for her involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident
, on Human Rights Day, December 10, 1979. The ROC government falsely accused Arrigo of spying for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
She returned to California
and then moved to New York
in 1983 for further graduate study in the Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Binghamton.
In April 1980, after the only violent political riot in thirty years, the Kaohsiung Incident, Shih Ming-te was sentenced to life imprisonment under the continuing martial law
(1949–1988). Seven other leading dissidents also received sentences of ten or more years for sedition, and the mother and daughters of one, Provincial Assemblyman Lin Yi-hsiung, were murdered on February 28, 1980.
In the 1990s Arrigo was permitted to return to Taiwan, where she became politically active in the Green Party Taiwan and Taiwan Environmental Protection Union. She taught at Shih Hsin University
in Taipei
and acted as a liaison for non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
She finished work on her PhD (1996) from the State University of New York at Binghamton. The title of her doctoral dissertation was "The Economics of Inequality in an Agrarian Society: Land Ownership, Land Tenure, Population Processes and the Rate of Rent in 1930’s China".
In 1997 she published Muckraker! An Overall Critique of the Opposition Movement in Taiwan, a collection of her political essays. Arrigo married for the third time in September 1999, to Ho Shu-yuan, a bus driver at a Taipei primary school that she meet doing environmental volunteering; but the couple has long been separated.
In 2001 she (along with Wang Feng-ying) accused Parris Chang, a Democratic Progressive Party legislator, of sexual harassment
. Chang filed a libel lawsuit against the two women. Arrigo also filed a lawsuit against her former husband, Shih Ming-te, for alimony. She won the lawsuit but Shih said he would only pay the money if she would "behave herself".
She publicly criticized her former husband, Shih Ming-te, in 2006, when he launched a campaign to oust President Chen Shui-bian. Arrigo contended that his campaign was financed and supported by the Kuomintang
(KMT).
In 2008 she completed a book in English compiling the experiences of early foreign human rights activists in Taiwan, entitled, "A Borrowed Voice: Taiwan Human Rights through International Networks, 1960-1980 (with co-author Lynn Miles), published with a grant from the Taiwan government's Bureau of Cultural Reconstruction, then under a DPP administration.
Since September 2007 Arrigo has been teaching at the Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
–Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese political activist, human rights activist, and academic researcher. She has been the international affairs officer of Green Party Taiwan
Green Party Taiwan
The Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. The party is not a member of, and should not be confused with, the Pan-Green Coalition. As its name suggests, the Green Party Taiwan focuses on environmental issues...
.
Biography
Born in the United States to Joseph and Nellie Arrigo, she went to Taiwan as a teenager in 1963 with her father, formerly a United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
logistics officer who was assigned to the Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group is a designation for American military advisers sent to assist in the training of conventional armed forces of Third World countries. Before and during the Vietnam War, there were three of these groups operating in Southeast Asia...
(MAAG) in Taiwan. Arrigo attended Taipei American School and after graduation in 1966 as valedictorian returned to the U.S. in 1968 and received her undergraduate degree in 1972 from the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. She then attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and obtained a "terminal" masters degree in Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
in 1976 after ideological disagreements with her advisors there.
Arrigo returned to Taiwan in 1977 to continue work on her doctorate research by studying the marriage and labor issues of Taiwanese women entering the workplace. Working with these women, and their families, would lead her to see Taiwan from their point-of-view and in the late 1970s she became active in human rights and opposition politics. She left behind in California her first husband, a Taiwanese-American surnamed Chen, and son Roger born 1969. She became a part of the 1978 campaign coalition that later evolved into the Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
(DPP), and in 1978 married a former political prisoner who in 1991 became the DPP chairman, Shih Ming-te (the couple formally divorced in June 1995 after Arrigo accused Shih of violating human rights principles in the party's international relations).
The following year, 1979, she was deported and then blacklisted from Taiwan, by James Soong
James Soong
James Soong Chu-yu , is a politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan. He founded and chairs the People First Party, a smaller and more conservative party in the Kuomintang -led Pan-Blue Coalition....
, then head of the Government Information Office, for her involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident
Kaohsiung Incident
The Kaohsiung Incident also known as the Formosa Incident, the Meilidao Incident or the Formosa Magazine incident was the result of pro-democracy demonstrations that occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on December 10, 1979....
, on Human Rights Day, December 10, 1979. The ROC government falsely accused Arrigo of spying for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
She returned to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and then moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1983 for further graduate study in the Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Binghamton.
In April 1980, after the only violent political riot in thirty years, the Kaohsiung Incident, Shih Ming-te was sentenced to life imprisonment under the continuing martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
(1949–1988). Seven other leading dissidents also received sentences of ten or more years for sedition, and the mother and daughters of one, Provincial Assemblyman Lin Yi-hsiung, were murdered on February 28, 1980
In the 1990s Arrigo was permitted to return to Taiwan, where she became politically active in the Green Party Taiwan and Taiwan Environmental Protection Union. She taught at Shih Hsin University
Shih Hsin University
Shih Hsin University is a private university in Wenshan District, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. Shih Hsin University has named one of the “Teaching Excellence Universities” by the Republic of China's Ministry of Education five years in a row, making Shih Hsin being among the top five schools...
in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
and acted as a liaison for non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
She finished work on her PhD (1996) from the State University of New York at Binghamton. The title of her doctoral dissertation was "The Economics of Inequality in an Agrarian Society: Land Ownership, Land Tenure, Population Processes and the Rate of Rent in 1930’s China".
In 1997 she published Muckraker! An Overall Critique of the Opposition Movement in Taiwan, a collection of her political essays. Arrigo married for the third time in September 1999, to Ho Shu-yuan, a bus driver at a Taipei primary school that she meet doing environmental volunteering; but the couple has long been separated.
In 2001 she (along with Wang Feng-ying) accused Parris Chang, a Democratic Progressive Party legislator, of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
. Chang filed a libel lawsuit against the two women. Arrigo also filed a lawsuit against her former husband, Shih Ming-te, for alimony. She won the lawsuit but Shih said he would only pay the money if she would "behave herself".
She publicly criticized her former husband, Shih Ming-te, in 2006, when he launched a campaign to oust President Chen Shui-bian. Arrigo contended that his campaign was financed and supported by the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT).
In 2008 she completed a book in English compiling the experiences of early foreign human rights activists in Taiwan, entitled, "A Borrowed Voice: Taiwan Human Rights through International Networks, 1960-1980 (with co-author Lynn Miles), published with a grant from the Taiwan government's Bureau of Cultural Reconstruction, then under a DPP administration.
Since September 2007 Arrigo has been teaching at the Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan.
Further reading
- Rubinstein, Murray A. editor, (1998). - Taiwan: A New History. - USA: M.E. Sharpe. - ISBN 9781563248160 -