Huang Chin-tao: a History of Taiwan Through One Man’s Life (Part 1) – S6-E2
This is part one of the extraordinary life story of Huang Chin-tao (黃金島 Huáng Jīndǎo). In fact, he seemed to live not one life but many; he was a Japanese naval recruit, a combat soldier, a survivor of typhoons and pirates, an armed rebel during the 2-28 Incident of 1947, a man on the run, a prisoner, and a politician. His lifetime, 1926 to 2019, also gives us the background story of Taiwan’s turbulent 20th century. Although the turns and twists of history were often brutal for Huang, he was unbreakable, a man who refused to let fate decide his path. In the words of the title of Anna Beth Keim’s excellent biography: Heaven Does Not Block All Roads.
This is part one of the extraordinary life story of Huang Chin-tao (黃金島 Huáng Jīndǎo). In fact, he seemed to live not one life but many; he was a Japanese naval recruit, a combat soldier, a survivor of typhoons and pirates, an armed rebel during the 2-28 Incident of 1947, a man on the run, a prisoner, and a politician. His lifetime, 1926 to 2019, also gives us the background story of Taiwan’s turbulent 20th century. Although the turns and twists of history were often brutal for Huang, he was unbreakable, a man who refused to let fate decide his path. In the words of the title of Anna Beth Keim’s excellent biography: Heaven Does Not Block All Roads.
WATCH: TV report on his passing
Translated Storm Media obituary for Huang:
"Huang Jin-dao (黃金島), a veteran of the 228 Incident and one of the best-known fighters in the Taichung-based 27 Brigade (二七部隊), died on January 9, 2019, at age 93. Born in Taichung in 1926 during Japanese rule, he had served as a special volunteer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, was later detained in a camp on Hainan after Japan’s defeat, and eventually made his way back to Taiwan. During the 228 uprising, he became a security commander in the 27 Brigade and helped lead resistance in the Wuniulan (烏牛欄) battle in Puli.
After the uprising was crushed, Huang went into hiding. In 1952, he was arrested in connection with the Gu Rui-ming (古瑞明) rebellion case, originally sentenced to death, and later had the sentence reduced to life imprisonment. He spent 24 years in prison before being released in 1975. Rather than disappear quietly, he reentered opposition politics, organizing pro-democracy groups before the Democratic Progressive Party existed and later serving as a senior local party figure in Taichung.
The article frames Huang as a man defined by fearlessness. Friends and admirers said his life was more dramatic than fiction, and he remained an important symbol of Taiwanese resistance, memory, and democratization into old age. Even in his final years, he appeared publicly at events connected to 228 history, including the launch of a book on the 27 Brigade. His funeral is tentatively set for the afternoon of January 21, 2019."
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