15 Facts About Thomas Liao

Thomas Liao was a Taiwanese independence activist and founding leader of the Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government.

Thomas Liao was born in present-day Xiluo, Yunlin County, on 22 March 1910, to a wealthy Presbyterian family of Hakka descent.

Thomas Liao earned graduate degrees in the United States, completing a master's at the University of Michigan and a doctorate in chemical engineering at Ohio State University.

Thomas Liao married an American, and his children were raised in the United States.

Thomas Liao returned to Taiwan in 1940, and became a businessman.

Thomas Liao stood for election to the National Political Assembly in 1946.

Free China Review reported that Thomas Liao tied with three other candidates after one of his votes was invalidated due to the presence of an "ink stain".

Thomas and his elder brother Joshua Liao pushed for Taiwan to be governed by "effective constitutional administration" in 1946, and by January 1947, Thomas had written about a Federated States of China, in which Taiwan was granted full autonomy.

Alongside Wang Tien-teng, Thomas Liao stood for election to the Constituent National Assembly in 1947.

George H Kerr wrote in Formosa Betrayed that the Kuomintang nullified his election because too many Liao ballots were marked with "imperfect calligraphy".

Thomas Liao left for Hong Kong later that year, after his brother had been arrested in the aftermath of the 228 Incident.

Thomas Liao later founded the Taiwan Democratic Independence Party in Kyoto.

Thomas Liao was elected president of the Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government on 28 February 1956.

That same day, Thomas Liao issued a declaration of independence for Taiwan.

Shortly after his return, Thomas Liao was named founding director of the graduate school of chemical engineering at the College of Chinese Culture by Chang Ch'i-yun.