Stephen Yang

Stephen Yang Guo-xin ONS HL     (Chinese: 楊國新; pinyin: Yáng Guóxīn; October 30, 1920 – June 1, 2022) was a Tsengian former politician, former professional footballer, and former actor. He served as the 8th President of Tseng from 1968 to 1976.

An anti-communist, Yang spearheaded the Wanxia Miracle, where Tseng was transformed from political chaos to a developed, modern country. The unemployment rate decreased significantly during his tenure, He is considered to be one of the greatest presidents of Tsengian history. Yang is seen as the "reincarnation" of Pierre Huang-li by NPP supporters because he built many things that Huang-li envisioned before he was assassinated, like the A1 highway and the Wanxia Dam. Yang also improved Tseng's economy using Huang-li inspired methods. Further evidence is proved by Yang's great-aunt being one of the cousins of Zheng Hua's (Huang-li's mother) grandparents.

Early life and education
Stephen Yang was born Yang Wanwei (楊萬偉) on October 30, 1920, to a working-class family in Chengdu, China. In 1926, the Yang family got enough money to move to Tseng. They settled in a quaint 2-story house in Port Elizabeth. Because of British Tseng's "no-foreign-names" rule, Yang changed his name to Stephen.

Acting and football career (1945-1952)
Yang showed an interest in acting and so he studied drama at the now closed Xincheng Arts University, acting in a few films along the way. Unfortunately none were successful so in 1947 he quit and went to play football (soccer) for the Xincheng soccer team.

Political career (1952-1968)
In 1952, Yang registered and became a member of the National Prosperity Party. That same year, he changed his Chinese name to 楊國新, meaning "new country". In 1953, he met Pierre Huang-li while at a rally in Qishan City. Yang was inactive for the rest of the 1950s but appeared again after the Longtan Coup, speaking out against the socialists, communists, and Frederik Bao. That was dangerous, because if anyone spoke out against the socialists they would be killed.

Yang and 21 other anti-communists formed the Blue Saviour Faction (BSF; 藍色救世主派) in July 1963, a counter-terrorist group who were responsible for the burning of the PDP headquarters in 1963 and 1964, and the burning of Robert Bei-yang's house. Yang later said he regretted joining the BSF.

Stephen Yang quickly rose up the ranks of the NPP, mainly because of his energetic and vehement speeches. When the military took power on November 11, 1968, Yang united with former enemies, including the leftists, and helped to overthrow the dictatorship. Yang was chosen as president, because no one wanted liberalism with the chaos of the last few years, and because he was popular. He was elected president by the National State Assembly on December 20.

First term (1968-1972)
Once in power, Yang decided to run on a non-partisan platform first and slowly shift to the right. This included signing laws he wasn't comfortable with, such as the Abortion Act, which permitted abortions by certified doctors.

Yang was losing his NPP support as he tried to balance his approval ratings among all people of political orientation, so within a year all his laws, including the Abortion Act, was reverted.

The Five-Year Plan was introduced on December 28, 1968. It revolutionized the Tsengian economy. In October 1968, Tseng's economy was mostly on agriculture and farming. Science and technology only contributed to 2% of the economy. A year later, in October 1969, technology exploded to 24%.

In 1969, the Tseng Electric Company (TEC) was founded. Because of his growing popularity, the founder of TEC, Abbott Wang, gave the TEC to the government. Yang also sponsored the founding of Fuxing Cars, Huadian and AZM.

Second term (1972-1976)
Yang was elected in the 1972 election. One of his most notable diplomatic trips was a summit to Bangkok, Thailand, on May 17, 1973, with the paramount leader of China,. This was the first diplomatic trip of China-Tseng, and the last until 1997. In 1975, he made a mistake when he didn't go to 's funeral in Taipei. This was a huge factor to his loss in the 1976 election. His popularity crashed when he remarked, "The late Chiang Kai-shek was a good man, standing in the face of communism and Maoism. But he was also an authoritarian leader, killing political enemies. I don't agree with silencing political opinions." He lost the election to Guo Ming-wang, the first indigenous president and the first PDP president since Frederik Bao (1962-1965), in one of the closest elections in Tsengian history, with only 1,028 votes separating the two.

Later life
Yang was still a high ranking member of the NPP despite his loss. He supported the Reforms of 90, saying that "the outdated system needed to go", In 1991, he retired from politics, to a standing ovation. In 2000, he received the (GBS), the highest Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong.

In the morning of June 1, 2022, Yang died at the Wuqiao Hospital in Tseng City. President John Cheng expressed his condolences on live television a few hours later. A state funeral is expected to be held.