After years in prison, where he lost all of his teeth due to beatings, Shih joined and led the Democratic Progressive Party, a new political force that drew together dissidents, democracy activists and civil society leaders as Taiwan ended its decadeslong martial law. He had political vision and was a romantic, but lacked the skills to be a shrewd political tactician.

His death came days after Taiwan elected DPP leader Lai Ching-te as the next president, the third victory in a row for the party in a powerful reaffirmation of Taiwan’s sovereignty and rebuke of China’s threats and coercion.

As party leader for the DPP in 1995, he said: “Taiwan is already a sovereign and independent country. With the DPP in power, there is no need to declare Taiwan’s independence and the party won’t declare independence.”

“Nori’s life was full of ups and downs. For one-third of his life, he was imprisoned in a cell for the sake of Taiwan’s democracy and freedom,” said Kiku Chen Chu, using Shih’s nickname. Chu was also a leader in Taiwan’s democracy movement who was jailed by the regime.

“As a participant and witness of the bloody process of Taiwan’s democratization, he left us a wealth of writings, which recorded in detail the despotism, dictatorship and cruelty at that time. Those who understand history and learn from the past should not repeat the same mistakes,” Chu said.

Taipei 101, the iconic skyscraper that defines Taipei’s skyline, was lit up to commemorate Shih in an unprecedented move to honor a political dissident.

President Tsai Ing-wen noted that Shih during the period of martial law helpd to publish “Formosa Magazine” and contributed to various movements to promote democracy, freedom and human rights. Formosa Magazine was created and supported by individuals outside the KMT regime who wanted political reforms to change the one-party state.

“He was also imprisoned for opposing various bans at the time, and wrote an important chapter in Taiwan’s democracy journey,” Tsai added, expressing her gratitude for his “hard work and contribution” to the island and the causes of democracy and freedom throughout his life.

Many Taiwanese news outlets across the political spectrum paid tribute to Shih’s legacy, calling him “Taiwan’s Mandela.”

Born in Kaohsiung in 1941 when Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule, Shih became an activist at a young age. He was jailed for advocating for Taiwan’s independence from China while serving in the military on the frontline island of Kinmen, just off the coast of China, after graduating from the Army Artillery School. He was jailed from 1962 to 1977.

“His lifelong fight for freedom and democracy does show how far the Taiwanese have come in their struggle for a free and democratic Taiwan, which wants to escape from under the shadow of Chinese authoritarianism, and be accepted internationally as a full and equal member of the international family of nations,” said Gerrit van der Wees, a former Dutch diplomat who teaches Taiwanese history at George Mason University in Virginia.

“It is a fitting tribute to him that Taiwan had another round of vibrant democratic elections just before his passing,” he told Nikkei Asia.

In 1980, Shih was again locked up for a decade because of his leadership role in the Kaohsiung Incident, when the government arrested leading opposition figures after they held a demonstration commemorating Human Rights Day in December 1979. The Kaohsiung Incident is considered a key event in galvanizing the Taiwanese democracy movement.

Shih undertook hunger strikes in prison and he subsequently revealed that he was force-fed more than 3,000 times within four years in the 1980s.

“Shih was very important in Taiwan’s democratic struggle. He’s an extremely brave man. However, he never really figured out how to turn his heroism into political power,” said Taipei-based commentator Michael Fahey.

“He had a chance at political power when he became DPP chairman, but that didn’t go very well and he was eclipsed by Chen Shui-bian, who then was a much more effective politician with even more charisma,” said Fahey.

Shih quit the DPP when Chen was nominated by the party as its presidential candidate. Chen subsequently won the election in 2000. Shih later spearheaded the campaign to topple the president for corruption.

Fahey said, “Many think that his prominence in the anti-corruption campaign against Chen was motivated by his considerable vanity and a desire for revenge.”

Several overseas politicians offered their condolences after Shih’s death. They included Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, a parliamentary member and wife of current Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. She met Shih several times, including at the World Democracy Forum in Poland in 2000, according to Toh Jin Xuan, a Malaysian author in Taipei who wrote a book about the parallels between Malaysia and Taiwan in their democracy movements.

After Anwar was imprisoned by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a power struggle in 1999, Shih urged lawmakers to sign a joint petition for his release, according to Toh.

Shih is survived by four daughters, two by former partner Chen Li-chu and the others by current wife Chen Chia-chun. He was married to American activist and academic Linda Gail Arrigo between 1978 and 1995.

Thompson Chau

Click here to subscribe to ESSF newsletters in English and or French.