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Su Beng and his lifelong struggle for his country

Taiwanese independence activist Su Beng's (史明) book, Taiwan's 400-year history, is the first to view the nation's history and its relations with other countries such as China, the Netherlands and Japan from the perspective of Taiwan's people. In recent years Su has gained belated recognition and some repute as a historian. Yet he spent most of his life in exile.

Su, now 85, was a wanted man under Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule. He was on the government's blacklist, barring him from returning to Taiwan. The spiritual figurehead of the independence camp, his Japanese-language history of the this country was a must read for everyone in the opposition movement.

Born Shih Chao-hui (施朝暉) in the Shihlin district of Taipei in 1918, Su mobilized an armed group of activists soon after the notorious February 28 Incident in 1947 to resist the depredations of the newly installed KMT administration. He was hunted by authorities when they discovered his involvement in the incident.

He then fled to Japan to avoid arrest, but was detained by the Japanese authorities upon arrival. Tokyo refused Taipei's request for his extradition, however, and granted him political asylum.

In 1967, Su established the Association for Taiwan Independence (ATI, 獨立台灣會) and built close relations with many anti-government activists on the island. It is said that the assassination attempt on president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) was planned in part by Su.

Although Su has lived in Japan for most of his life, he has significantly influenced the development of Taiwan's democratic movement. His theory of launching an opposition movement from both within and outside the system formed a crucial benchmark for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) when it was founded in 1986.

It can be argued that the DPP's flexibility and efficacy in fighting KMT repression was inspired by Su's dual strategy. The party's Formosa faction advocated participating in elections to gain local and national representation, through which it was hoped broader democratic reforms could be brought about.

On the other hand, the New Tide faction advocated holding street protests and other disruptive and highly visual campaigns against the KMT. It was not afraid of causing conflict. Thanks to this combination of methods, KMT rule was worn down from both inside and outside the system.

In 1991, Taiwan Garrison Command officials broke into a dormitory at National Tsing Hua University and seized copies of Su's book and arrested ATI members. This triggered protests by intellectuals, who called on the government to "respect academic freedom and oppose political prosecution," and eventually gave rise to a national student movement.

As a result, many scholars launched the Action 100 Alliance (一百行動聯盟), demanding the abolition of Article 100 of the Criminal Code, a law pertaining to rebellion, while at the same time pushing for direct presidential elections and other democratic reforms. This incident was called "the ATI case," and Su was its spiritual leader.

After the DPP came to power, Su decided to return to Taiwan. Before his inauguration, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) honored Su for his dedication to Taiwan. In 2001, Su founded the Su Beng Educational Foundation in the hope of fulfilling his lifelong mission of building a country belonging to the Taiwanese people.

Vincent Lin (林文政) is an associate editor-in-chief of the Taipei Times.

TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
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