Peng Wan-ru
Chinese彭婉如
Hanyu PinyinPéng Wǎnrú
Wade–GilesP'eng Wan-ju
Hokkien POJPhêⁿ Oán-jû
Born(1949-07-13)13 July 1949
Died30 November 1996(1996-11-30) (aged 47)
Cause of deathMurder
Body discoveredKaohsiung County
Political partyDemocratic Progressive Party
SpouseHorng Wann-sheng
Children1

Peng Wan-ru (Chinese: 彭婉如; 13 July 1949 – 30 November 1996), also spelled Peng Wan-ju, was a feminist Taiwanese politician. The director of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Women's Affairs Department, Peng advocated for the safety and development of women.[1][2] Peng married Horng Wann-sheng (洪萬生; Hóng Wànshēng, a mathematics professor at NTNU)[3] and they had a son together.[4]

Murder

In November 1996, Peng disappeared in Kaohsiung, Taiwan; the public last saw her board a yellow Ford Telstar taxi after a DPP meeting the night prior to a DPP convention. She was discovered raped and murdered outside of an abandoned warehouse in Kaohsiung County (now part of Kaohsiung City); her body had more than 30 stab wounds.[1][2]

Despite an extensive investigation, the police were unable to solve the crime. At least 70,000 Taiwanese taxi drivers had their fingerprints analyzed in an effort to find Peng's killer. Horng said that he felt frustrated that the killer was not found.[4] There have been numerous false leads since the murder.[5]

In 2015, police received tips from the ex-girlfriend of a taxi driver surnamed Yang, who said that he had told her he had killed Peng.[6] Although Yang did not match DNA samples taken from the crime scene, he did match several fingerprint characteristics.

The statute of limitations ran out in 2016, closing the case, which prompted some DPP lawmakers to propose the removal of the twenty-year statute for murder cases and major economic crimes.[7]

Response and legacy

Peng's murder produced an outcry against the lack of protection women have in Taiwan. Peng's proposed quota for one-fourth of the seats of the elected seats to be reserved for women passed during the November 30, 1996 DPP National Congress meeting; the public believes that Peng died during that day.[2]

Peng's death, along with two other well-publicized murder cases, led to mass demonstrations in May 1997. Demonstrators marched on 4 May 1997[8] and 18 May 1997,[9] demanding Premier Lien Chan's resignation[10][11] over the perceived rise in violent crime as evidenced by the then-unsolved murders of Pai Hsiao-yen, Peng Wan-ru,[12] and Liu Pang-yu. On 24 June 1998, Taiwan passed Asia's first laws regarding domestic violence, due in part to Peng's death and the case of Teng Ju-wen, who murdered her husband in October 1993, following years of abuse.[13]

The Peng Wan-ru Foundation (彭婉如基金會; Péng Wǎnrú Jījīnhuì), an organization named after Peng and established in 1997 by Peng's husband,[14] supports women wishing to enter the labour force.[1] It trains women for participation in their child-care programs; once they have passed the courses, the Foundation matches them with households or elementary schools in need of child care.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Chang, Diane (July 6, 2003). "Women's foundation seeks financial aid". Taipei Times. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Yu, Sen-lun (November 30, 1999). "Peng's ideas still a beacon for women". Taipei Times. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
  3. ↑ 洪萬生. "洪萬生". NTNU Department of Mathematics. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  4. 1 2 Lin, Irene (November 30, 1999). "Three years on, her killer is still at large". Taipei Times. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  5. ↑ Lin, Irene (16 September 1999). "Man claims to have killed Peng Wan-ru". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Huang, Chia-lin; Chung, Jake (12 November 2015). "New lead in investigation of Peng Wan-ru murder". Taipei Times. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Pan, Jason (2 December 2016). "DPP urges change to Criminal Code". Taipei Times. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "15,000 in demo against crime". New Straits Times. 5 May 1997. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Marchers Demand That Premier Resign". Spokesman-Review. 19 May 1997. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Chen Chin-hsing set to be executed". Taipei Times. 6 October 1999. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Premier under fire over killings". Taiwan Info. Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 9 May 1997. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Furse, Jane (11 May 1997). "Taiwan in uproar over girl's killing". New York Daily News. News Wire. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Han Cheung (19 June 2022). "Taiwan in Time: Outlawing spousal abuse". Taipei Times. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  14. ↑ Chen, Melody (16 May 2004). "Lin Fang-mei: first a feminist and now a diplomat". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
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