Xie Xuehong

Xie was born in Changhua County in 1901 to a working class family, the fourth of seven children.[1] She assumed at least seven other names throughout her lifetime. At the age of twelve, she moved in with another family. Her adoptive family was abusive, and, instead of entering an arranged marriage with their son, Hong Xinhu, she left their home. Xie met and married Zhang Shumin in 1918. For a time, the couple lived in Kobe, Japan, where the Taishō period of democracy heavily influenced Xie. Soon after Xie and Zhang moved to China, the couple split, as Xie had discovered that Zhang was still married to another woman. Xie then began to give sewing lessons, while also making and selling clothes. The May Fourth Movement was a political turning point for Xie, and she later joined Chiang Wei-shui's resistance against Japanese rule.[2][3] Xie studied sociology at Shanghai University and took part in the May Thirtieth Movement of 1925,[3] the same year she was told to join the Communist Party of China,[4] but there were questions about the legality of her party membership. Xie then moved to Moscow for further education. In 1927, she returned to China and helped found the Taiwanese Communist Party in 1928. Xie's ideology spread to Chiang's Taiwanese People's Party and Taiwanese Cultural Association after she took on leadership positions in the two groups. She believed that a maintaining a distinct Taiwanese identity and allowing bourgeoisie to participate would allow communism to flourish in Taiwan. Others disagreed and Xie was expelled from the Taiwanese Communist Party in 1931. Later that year, she was arrested and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for advocating communism. In 1939, Xie was released after catching tuberculosis.[2][3]

Xie returned to political activism in 1945, when Kuomintang forces arrived in Taiwan, stating that "Taiwan must be ruled by Taiwanese."[3] In September 1946, Xie established the Taiwan People’s Association, which was disestablished by the Kuomintang government in January 1947.[5] In 1947, she convened the 27 Brigade and was involved in the February 28 incident from her home base in Taichung, telling the masses not to damage property or injure anyone.[3] Three weeks later, she escaped to Hong Kong, where she founded the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League,[6][7][8] and later moved to Xiamen. Under Xie's leadership, the league opposed the aims of the Formosan League for Reemancipation, which backed formal independence or trusteeship.[6] At its founding, Taimeng backed liberation of Taiwan from the control of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang.[5] In China, Xie was active in the China Youth League and served on the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.[7] However, Xie continued to push for Taiwan's right to self-determination, views for which the Chinese Communist Party targeted her during the Anti-Rightist Movement. Xie died in Beijing in 1970, a victim of the Cultural Revolution. She was posthumously rehabilitated by the Communist Party of China in 1986.[3][9][10]