RECENTLY THE FAMILY members of late democracy activist Lei Chen (雷震) appealed to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in the hope of locating copies of the memoirs and diary written by Lei during his imprisonment.
Although the Ministry of National Defense's response was that all these papers had long been "lawfully" destroyed and no copies of them exist, President Chen nevertheless indicated a refusal to give up hope. He stated that he would see to it that the ministry's chief of the general staff would do his best to locate the papers.
Lei exemplified the conscience of Chinese intellectuals. He founded a monthly magazine in an era of political terror and persecution to advocate democracy and criticize current events. His efforts enlightened an entire generation, and jump-started the democratic movement. Looking back, the hard work and sacrifice of our forefathers were central to Taiwan's political accomplishment. The wrongful criminal conviction of Lei and the subsequent destruction of his papers are therefore truly disheartening.
According to the military, Lei's papers were confiscated by the prison authorities before Lei's release from prison, because the Garrison General Headquarters had thought they advocated communism and criticized the government. The papers were eventually delivered to prison authorities in 1988 for disposal in accordance with Item 2, Article 71 of the "Law on Execution of Prison Punishment (
In other words, everything was done "lawfully." Blame the legislature that passed the laws, if you must. However, the law on execution of prison punishment merely states "upon discovery, all personal assets in the possession [of the prisoner] may be confiscated or destroyed ..." The prison authorities expanded the scope of the authority to cover destruction of all and any belongings of the inmates for any reasons.
Anyone with common sense can tell that this interpretation of the law is extremely absurd. The memoir and diary were the fruits of Lei's hard work. While he may have been an inmate at the time, he was rightfully entitled to the protection of all basic human rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The prison authorities were not entitled to dispose of all and any personal belongings of the prison inmates.
Additionally, the law explicitly indicates that a choice between confiscation or destruction is available. Just exactly why did the memoir and diary have to be destroyed, rather than confiscated? If destruction of the fruits of an inmate's labor is "legal," does this mean that those who allowed former lawmaker Chu Kao-cheng (
The purported "lawfulness" of government action is just an excuse for the abuse of power and the realization of unlawful goals. The goal was to suppress the thoughts of dissidents or to destroy evidence of the prison authorities' wrongful conduct.
From the destruction of audio tapes in the investigation of the Yin Ching-feng (
In any event, Lei stood witness to the history of another era. These papers were extremely valuable. Those who destroyed them violated more than Lei's human rights. They destroyed the Taiwan people's hope of unearthing the truth about Taiwan's history. This is an unforgivable sin in itself.
To do justice to Lei, and to the concealed history of the time, the Ministry of National Defense and the Control Yuan should take the initiative in investigating the culpability of the officials involved.
Huang Juei-min is an assistant professor of labor relations at National Chung Cheng University.
Translated by Amy Wu
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath