TAIPEI - Taiwan's former premier Hau Pei-tsun has died at the age of 100 due to multiple organ failure.

Mr Hau's son, former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin, 67, said in a statement that the Hau family is not planning to hold any funeral services for the late retired general any time soon because large gatherings are discouraged during the coronavirus outbreak, but one might be scheduled in the future.

The former premier was a decorated general who enjoyed a number of high-ranking posts in both Taiwan's armed forces and the political scene.

On Thursday (April 2), Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a Facebook post extended his condolences to the Taiwanese people over Mr Hau's passing on Monday, describing the former premier as a deeply respected leader who made many contributions to the security and well-being of Taiwan and to cross-strait relations, as well as Taiwan and Singapore's bilateral ties.

Mr Lee and Mr Hau first met in 1974 and kept up a steady correspondence throughout the years.

According to the PM Lee, Mr Hau was close friends with his father, former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, and had attended the late Mr Lee's funeral in 2015.

"Mr Hau lived a long and full life. He will be remembered as a dear friend of Singapore," said Mr Lee in his Facebook post.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, Mr Hau's military career began even before the Kuomintang administration moved to Taiwan after the Chinese civil war between 1945 and 1949, having fought in the Chinese forces during World War II and later helped Taiwan launch its first indigenous military systems programme.

Aside from his three-year term as premier during the Kuomintang rule in the early 1990s and a year as defence minister before that, Mr Hau was also the longest-serving chief of the general staff of Taiwan's armed forces, holding the position from 1981 to 1989.