The 1976 Double Ten-Day Bombings – S6 [Bonus]
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In October 1976, three innocent-looking dictionaries were mailed to senior officials in Taiwan. Hidden inside each was a homemade bomb. Two exploded, and one of the targets, Taiwan Provincial Governor Hsieh Tung-min, was badly injured.
Hsieh (1908–2001) was a Taichung native who had left Japanese-ruled Taiwan as a teenager to study in China. He joined the KMT in 1930 and was one of the Taiwanese returnees who became important intermediaries in Taiwan's postwar years.
The bomber was Wang Sing-nan, born in Tainan in 1941. After moving to the United States for business, he became involved in radical pro-independence politics. Convinced that peaceful opposition to the KMT regime was futile, he hatched a drastic plan for action.
What happened to both men after the bombings is surprising, so make sure to follow this episode to the very end.
Key Takeaways
- The 1976 Double Ten-Day Bombings were a dramatic episode in Taiwan's turbulent twentieth-century political history.
- Taichung native Hsieh Tung-min became the first Taiwan-born Governor of the Province of Taiwan in 1972.
- Wang Sing-nan, a radical pro-independence activist born in Tainan, targeted Hsieh Tung-min whom he viewed as a collaborator.
- The assassination attempt involved a dangerous homemade bomb concealed inside a hollowed-out book.
- Hsieh Tung-min suffered severe injuries from the blast, yet the subsequent events and final outcomes for both men offer a surprising historical twist.
The bomber and his main victim were both born in Taiwan.
Taichung native Hsieh Tung-min (1908-2001) was pro-KMT and went to China to study and to aid in the fight against the Japanese. In 1972, Hsieh became the first Taiwan-born Governor of the Province of Taiwan.
Wang Sing-nan was born in Tainan in 1941, and by the mid-1970s, had become active in radical pro-independence politics. Wang saw Hsieh as a “collaborator,” and decided extreme measures were needed – measures such as a hollowed-out book filled with a homemade bomb.
Hear the story of what happened to both of these people, an ending that might surprise you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Hsieh Tung-min?
Hsieh Tung-min (1908-2001) was a pro-KMT politician from Taichung who, in 1972, became the first Taiwan-born Governor of the Province of Taiwan.
What happened during the 1976 Double Ten-Day Bombings?
In 1976, radical pro-independence activist Wang Sing-nan targeted Taiwan Governor Hsieh Tung-min with a homemade bomb hidden inside a hollowed-out book, resulting in severe injuries to Hsieh.
Who was Wang Sing-nan?
Wang Sing-nan was born in Tainan in 1941 and became active in radical pro-independence politics by the mid-1970s, ultimately orchestrating the 1976 letter bomb attack against Hsieh Tung-min.
