Doctor Wu Yongchang, the oldest director of the International Rotary 345 area, Liu Jingheng, a researcher on the history of Chinese Rotary. October 1, 2013 Wu Yung-Chang “Free” (1905-2000) is a century-old Chinese Rotary history The “oldest” district director, he was 72 years old the year he was in office. To this day, he is still the holder of this record. In February 1905, Wu Yongchang and Rotary “born” at the same time. He joined the Rotary Club of Taichung on May 21, 1955; served as the third president from 1957 to 1958, and went to Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. to participate in the 49th Annual International Rotary Club. Rotary is very active in Taichung. He helped to establish Fengyuan, Nantou, Puli, Taichung Southeast, and Northwest clubs, and all participated. 90% of Taichung’s early doctors were introduced by him to join the Rotary, and in their eighties he still introduced new recruits into the club with all his heart. Following Hong Kong’s Song Changkang, Wu Yongchang served as the 17th director of the International Rotary 345 region from 1976 to 1977. The geographical area includes Taiwan Province of the Republic of China, Hong Kong, a British territory, and Macau, a Portuguese territory. There are more than 80 Rotary clubs in the three places. According to the charter, the duties and responsibilities of the district governor must be one-by-one for formula visits. At that time, there were no north-south expressways and no high-speed trains in Taiwan. The only way to travel between Hong Kong and Macau is steamer ships that have sailed for several hours. For Wu Yongchang, who was in his early years, it is not a piece of cake to complete the visits to the more than 80 Rotary clubs one by one. However, he has been working on the expansion of Rotary during his tenure. A total of 20 new agencies have been added, and the number of members has increased by 660 to 3,750. He is also committed to promoting the donation of the Rotary Fund, 345 districts totaling 833,444 US dollars, exceeding 100% of the donation target. At 72 years old, Wu Yongchang is strong and vigorous, working tirelessly, and always striving for various “firsts.” When he handed over the certificate of Shuilishe to the president, on the way back to Taichung, the term of office of June 30 had passed! After retiring as the director, he served as the third, fourth, and fifth chairman of the Rotary International Association of China (now the Rotary International Taiwan Association). In 1996, Rotary International awarded the “Outstanding Service Award”. Wu Yongchang is a Rotary man who insists on “three outs” all his life—attendance, contribution, and contribution. In 1999, when the 921 earthquake hit the hospital, he was unwell and was admitted to the hospital. The first sentence he woke up two hours later was: “I want to make up for it.” In order to maintain his glory of 100% attendance for more than 40 years, he often sits in a wheelchair and insists on going to the Rotary Club of Dali to make up for his attendance. The spirit is touching. By the end of June 2000, Wu Yongchang had been hospitalized with a respirator for more than four months, and passed away at the age of 96.
2 Doctor of clinical medicine pursues a healthy world Wu Yongchang, born in Puli, Taiwan during the rule of the Japanese Empire in February 1905. Smart since he was a child, he studied at the school and elementary school in his hometown when he was young. In 1920, he graduated from the Puli Community School in the first place and was admitted to the Taiwan Public Taichung High School (later renamed Taichung State Taichung No. 1 High School, now the National Taichung No. 1 High School). In 1925, Taichung State Taichung No. 1 High School graduated in the seventh round and first place. Wu Yongchang was admitted to the preparatory course of Aichi Medical University in Japan (later renamed Nagoya Medical University, which is now the Faculty of Medicine of Nagoya University), and was taught by the Emperor Katsunumosei, the Emperor of Japan. Professor Tibet. In 1933, Wu Yongchang married Ms. Wu Pei, a famous family in Changhua City. In 1936, he obtained a doctorate in clinical medicine from Nagoya Medical University. Returning to Taiwan in 1937, Wu Yongchang opened the Yongchang Internal Medicine Hospital in Taichung City. At that time, in addition to Taiwanese people who liked to see him for medical treatment, many Japanese officials and gentry also sought medical treatment from him. It even caused dissatisfaction with the local Japanese physicians, and designed the Japanese military to recruit him to become a military doctor in the Vietnam war zone. After he reported to Kaohsiung, he was allowed to return to the hospital to take care of the patients due to medical advice from Taichung. When returning to Kaohsiung Port, the transport ship had already set sail, and the ship was subsequently sunk off the coast of Vietnam. As a result, he escaped a catastrophe and recovered his life. In 1945, the war was victorious and peaceful, and Taiwan recovered. Wu Yongchang was elected to the first Taichung City Council due to popular support. In 1947, the “228 Incident” occurred. On February 27, investigators of the Monopoly Bureau improperly used public power when investigating smuggled cigarettes in Taipei City, causing deaths and injuries among the people, and arousing complaints. On February 28, the Kuomintang army suppressed, arrested, and killed people, causing a large number of casualties. After the “228 Massacre”, doctors, lawyers, and teachers were all included in the political silence. Wu Yongchang was enthusiastic about participating in local public affairs, and as a result he was also involved in political turmoil and was arrested. He was sent to the Xihongan Temple in Taipei City to be imprisoned, and then transferred to the Military Law Department for trial. Fortunately, Chen Guofu, an important member of the Kuomintang, used to seek medical treatment in Taichung, and wrote to President Jiang Zhongzheng to plead for him, asking him to find out the facts. Finally, it was confirmed that Wu Yongchang was framed and released. Since then, he was disappointed in politics and withdrew from the political arena. However, he is still enthusiastic about social welfare. In 1948, he was elected as the second chairman of the Taichung Medical Association for a three-year term. At that time, the population of Taichung City was about 70,000, and the number of doctors was less than 100. He put the guild’s affairs on the contact of members and the exchange of medical skills, and gradually brought the guild’s affairs on track. In that era, the most common cases in Taiwan were acute enteritis, malaria and pneumonia. Wu Yongchang said, perhaps it has something to do with the social background at that time! After that, Wu Yongchang was re-elected as the fourth and fifth chairman of the board until 1964, playing a pivotal role in the medical field. What Wu Yongchang silently pursued in his life was: a healthy body, a healthy society, a healthy culture, and a healthy life. In 1962, I felt the inconvenience of transportation in my hometown of Nantou, and the time burden of people in remote areas in and out of the mountainous areas. In order to take care of the disadvantaged folks, Wu Yongchang resolutely took over as chairman of the board of directors of Nantou Passenger Transport when Nantou Passenger Transport continued to lose money. It will also introduce Pingtung Passenger Transport’s capital and vehicle manpower to improve Nantou’s public transportation services. In addition, due to his extensive contacts and multilingual proficiency (Taiwanese, Mandarin, Chinese, Japanese, German, Latin, English), Wu Yongchang has been very successful in his business. He also owns pharmaceutical companies, pesticide factories, and is also involved in investment in the insurance industry. He is kind and generous, and has long sponsored cultural, educational, and medical activities. In 1980, he was praised as “Good People and Good Deeds in the Country”. Wu Yongchang was the son of a witch and his father, Wu Jun, was a prominent local family member. He was once the head of the Puli Credit Association (now Puli Town Farmers Association). His mother, Ms. Wu Yue, was selected as the “Model Mother of Nantou County.” Several younger brothers are outstanding entrepreneurs, writers, physicians, and politicians — Wu Yongsheng (a former professor at National Taiwan University), Dr. Wu Yongde, Dr. Wu Yonghuang, and Wu Yongfu (a well-known Taiwanese native writer during the Japanese occupation period and after the war) , All have outstanding performance, which is admirable. Wu Yongchang and his wife, Ms. Wu Pei, have two boys and four girls. The eldest son, Guangxiong, is a banker in the United States, and the second son, Guangwei, is a member of the Rotary Club of Taiwan and the Middle East. The story of the Witch Family at the East Gate of Puli Street has long been preserved in the Puli Image and Story Center, allowing the public to remember and miss.