TAIPEI -- Hsu Li-nung, a revered leader of Taiwan's pro-reunification groups, passed away early Sunday at a hospital in Taipei at the age of 106.

Born in April 1919 in Guichi, Anhui province, Hsu was a graduate of the Huangpu Military Academy, which was born out of the first cooperation between the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China and stood as the first academy cultivating military officers for the Chinese revolution.

At the age of 18, he joined China's resistance against Japanese aggression following the July 7th Incident in 1937. He relocated to Taiwan in 1949.

In the 1990s, Hsu grew increasingly critical of then-KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui's pro-independence stance. Disillusioned, he left the KMT and joined the New Party. He later founded several pro-reunification groups, including the New Alliance Association, becoming a widely respected spiritual leader of Taiwan's pro-reunification groups.

A staunch proponent of cross-Strait reunification, Hsu led multiple delegations to the mainland. In 2014, he served as head of a major delegation of Taiwan's pro-reunification groups visiting the mainland.

In his later years, Hsu frequently expressed his "only wish in the remainder of life," which was to witness the reunification of the motherland as early as possible.

Following news of his death, tributes poured in from friends, colleagues, and pro-reunification organizations.