A seminar on the international rights movement and the nation’s democratic development at the Taiwan Human Rights park in Jingmei (景美), Taipei, on Saturday finally cleared up a long-standing mystery, while illustrating the noble side of human nature.
In the early 1970s, democracy pioneer Peng Ming-min (彭明敏), who was put under house arrest for expressing dissent during the Martial Law era, escaped and made his way to Sweden, where he sought political asylum.
For more than 40 years, this legendary story has been recounted in a variety of versions. Peng made an appearance at the seminar and gave a detailed account of his escape, showing the tools of his daring flight, including a wig, glasses, a backpack, falsified tickets and photographs of himself in disguise. The story of how a democracy activist fooled special agents and slipped through the hands of a malevolent autocratic regime with the assistance of friends abroad was heartening.
The selfless aid offered by kind-hearted people overseas inspires respect and admiration. US missionary Milo Thornberry was expelled from the country by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government and accused of terrorism because he helped Peng escape. Denied a passport by the US government for 19 years after that, Thornberry was only issued a passport after intervention by former US Democratic senator Sam Nunn.
Likewise, Takayuki Munakata of Japan — a member of the World United Formosans for Independence central standing committee — did not hesitate to help Peng, which he did by providing a counterfeit passport. Munakata spent nine months learning to make the embossed seal on a passport photograph.
Kenichi Abe, a close friend of Munakata’s, traveled to Taiwan to carry out the mission of freeing Peng, whom he had never met before. Abe was composed and calm in the face of danger and the rescue was successful. After Peng reached Sweden, he was aided by a group of warm-hearted Amnesty International activists and it is safe to say the story had a happy ending.
The chain of individuals from different countries who volunteered their assistance to help Peng is an inspiring example of the potential of international cooperation to help prisoners of conscience. It is the kind of occurrence that was an undeniable factor on the road from autocracy to democracy in Taiwan.
It took extraordinary courage and exceptional wisdom for these people to reach out to those in need and encourage the movement to end an unjust regime. Yet once Peng had been freed and was safe in Sweden, those who helped him did not boast or seek recognition for their efforts. Thornberry even paid a price in the US, where his pro-democracy efforts were long spurned. The benevolence and courage of these people demonstrates the admirable side of humanity. Above all, they showed they had faith in Taiwan.
To this day, the some of the goals listed in the “Declaration of Formosan Self-Salvation,” cowritten by Peng and two of his students, Hsieh Tsung-min (謝聰敏) and Wei Ting-chao (魏廷朝), have yet to be realized.
As Thornberry said, however: “One generation plants trees; the next enjoys the shade.”
Munakata, meanwhile, envisions a second transformation in Taiwan’s progress, while Abe said he wanted to see more concrete action to move forward.
Since Taiwan has yet to be recognized as independent by most of the international community, a book or movie telling Peng’s story would help tell the story of Taiwan and remind us to strive for justice and fairness.
Lu Shih-hsiang is an adviser to the Taipei Times and chief executive officer of the Foundation for the Advancement of Media Excellence.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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