As Premier, Yu was responsible for ending Taiwan's 38 years of martial law in 1987.[1][2] In October 1988, he walked out of a meeting of the Legislative Yuan, the first time a government official had done so, as extensive debate made it impossible for Yu to deliver his reports.[3] He died from complications from leukemia at 4pm on 4 October 2000 at the Veterans' General Hospital in Taipei.[4]