The son of a grocery owner, Tang was born and spent his early years in Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended public schools.
After graduation from the Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Science degree and the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Laws, he was again commissioned to the Army and served on the Korean peninsula during the Korean War.
After losing his judicial re-election in 1970, due to a highly publicized juvenile murder trial in which he was accused for being too lenient, Tang returned to private practice.
[citation needed] Tang was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on August 29, 1977, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Judge Richard Harvey Chambers.
His service was terminated on July 18, 1995, due to his death of cancer at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix.