Ong Iok-tek
Encyclopedia
Ong Iok-tek was a Taiwan
ese scholar and early leader of the Taiwan independence movement. He is considered to be an authority on the Min Nan
language family and the Taiwanese language.
He was born in Tainan, of a prominent family. He attended Tokyo Imperial University in 1943 but World War II compelled him to returned to Taiwan after a year. He took a critical attitude toward the Kuomintang
, one accentuated by the killing of his brother, a Tokyo-educated prosecutor, in the 228 Incident
. His own life threatened by the new regime, he fled to Japan
in 1949 and spent the rest of his life there and other places.
He resumed his studies in 1950.5 and after completing his Ph.D. (1969) at the University of Tokyo
, he taught Taiwanese at Meiji University
(1974). He is still known as an authority on the language.
He also played a leading role in the Taiwan independence movement in Japan. As a student he had joined Liao Wenyi's Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government but became dissatisfied with it after two years. He established the Taiwan Youth Association in 1960 and published the organization's influential monthly Taiwan Seinen in Japanese
(later for a time in Chinese
) and Formosan Quarterly in English. The Taiwan Youth Association later changed its name to the Taiwan Youth Independence League. In the 1970s he was a leader in the campaign to secure compensation for the 200,000 Taiwanese who had served as soldiers under the Japanese. In 1982 he served as a committee member of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs
.
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 scholar and early leader of the Taiwan independence movement. He is considered to be an authority on the Min Nan
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
language family and the Taiwanese language.
He was born in Tainan, of a prominent family. He attended Tokyo Imperial University in 1943 but World War II compelled him to returned to Taiwan after a year. He took a critical attitude toward 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...
, one accentuated by the killing of his brother, a Tokyo-educated prosecutor, in the 228 Incident
228 Incident
The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...
. His own life threatened by the new regime, he fled to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1949 and spent the rest of his life there and other places.
He resumed his studies in 1950.5 and after completing his Ph.D. (1969) at the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
, he taught Taiwanese at Meiji University
Meiji University
is a private university in Tokyo and Kawasaki, founded in 1881 by three lawyers of the Meiji era, Kishimoto Tatsuo, Miyagi Kōzō, and Yashiro Misao. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Japanese universities in Tokyo, Japan....
(1974). He is still known as an authority on the language.
He also played a leading role in the Taiwan independence movement in Japan. As a student he had joined Liao Wenyi's Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government but became dissatisfied with it after two years. He established the Taiwan Youth Association in 1960 and published the organization's influential monthly Taiwan Seinen in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
(later for a time in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
) and Formosan Quarterly in English. The Taiwan Youth Association later changed its name to the Taiwan Youth Independence League. In the 1970s he was a leader in the campaign to secure compensation for the 200,000 Taiwanese who had served as soldiers under the Japanese. In 1982 he served as a committee member of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs
Formosan Association for Public Affairs
The Formosan Association for Public Affairs is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that seeks to build worldwide support for Taiwan independence. Its 52 chapters also seek to advance the interests of Taiwanese people and communities around the world. Currently, the President of FAPA...
.
See also
- 228 Incident228 IncidentThe 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...
- Taiwan independenceTaiwan independenceTaiwan independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China , form a Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China and a Chinese...