Nov. 5 to Nov. 11
The arrest of editor-in-chief Ni Shih-tan (倪師壇) on Nov. 7, 1957, was just the beginning of the end for the struggling Public Opinion Press (公論報).
Despite funding issues and other difficulties, the newspaper had celebrated its 10th anniversary two weeks earlier. Supportive of the government at first, its stance was growing increasingly critical, especially after the local elections in April 1957 where the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) claimed 20 out of 21 positions amid a myriad of vote rigging controversies.
Photo courtesy of National Central Library
“The KMT has held power for too long … and has lost the hearts of the people,” an editorial stated.
Before Ni’s arrest, the paper pulled no punches in an editorial titled, “How to celebrate the president’s birthday,” on Oct. 31, referring to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). It criticized KMT members and high-level government officials, warning that since the president “relies on them and has high expectations, they should examine their own conduct and take concrete actions to relieve the burden on the president instead of proclaiming empty loyalty.”
The equally critical Free China (自由中國) magazine published a similar “birthday” editorial, urging Chiang to abandon his authoritarian ways and establish civilian control of the military. Nobody was arrested, but government agencies, the military and the state-run newspapers all attacked Free China in their publications.
Photo courtesy of National Central Library
Ni was eventually sentenced to six years in jail for “failing to report Communist activity,” a military court accusing the reformed Chinese Communist Party member of meeting a former comrade on the streets, but not informing the authorities.
FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
Founder and publisher Lee Wan-chu (李萬居) took over as editor-in-chief after Ni’s arrest. Lee was one of the six Taiwan-born members of the Provincial Assembly, dubbed the “Five Dragons, One Phoenix” for their firebrand questioning style and relentless pursuit of democracy. His paper reflected these ideals.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Lee details the founding of the paper in an article on its 10th-year anniversary: “Two years after [the KMT took over Taiwan] ... mistrust and a lack of understanding between those born in Taiwan and those born in China have led to many setbacks. To ensure local development and resolve the animosity between different groups, a local civilian paper is urgently needed.”
Its stance was simple: “Taiwan is finally free from the shackles of 50 years of Japanese imperialist rule, and its people will change from slaves to their own masters. Their thirst for democracy, freedom and advancement is especially strong … The service we provide to society is a historic mission only made possible by the retrocession of Taiwan, hence we chose [Oct. 25, Retrocession Day] as our founding date.”
However, Lee also wrote about the struggles to keep the paper afloat. Lee found it hard to obtain funding, noting that investors were reluctant to help him due to fear of retribution after the 228 Incident, an anti-government uprising in 1947 that the KMT government brutally suppressed. Fortunately, his other endeavors were lucrative enough to support the publication.
When other struggling papers banded together to establish the United Daily News (聯合報) in 1951, Lee chose to remain independent to maintain editorial freedom.
‘IMPROPER RHETORIC’
Oppression was also part of the hardships, as Public Opinion Press was watched closely by the authorities from the very start. Lee’s position as a Chinese Youth Party (中國青年黨, a minor political party that had little clout) politician didn’t help either, as it had to repeatedly assert that it was not a party mouthpiece.
Lee writes that the paper had been suspended, sued and banned in public institutions. Its staff were regularly threatened and Lee’s house was also suspiciously burned down in 1954. However, Lee wrote that nothing could stop him since he was motivated by “the pursuit of ideals.”
The crackdown mostly began in the mid-1950s. The government further tightened control over freedom of speech through the “cultural cleansing movement” (文化清潔運動) of 1954, when 10 publications were suspended. The following year saw new restrictions on news content, which included “slandering the head of state and government institutions.”
Public Opinion Press was branded as a paper with “improper rhetoric,” with its staff and readers constantly harassed, to which it responded in a 1955 editorial: “We believe that anyone with a discerning eye will know that restricting the development of this paper will do no good for our country.”
Despite Ni’s arrest, the paper refused to tone down its criticism of the Chiang regime, and conflict with the government only grew deeper. In 1958, for example, Beigang High School prohibited its students from subscribing to the paper under government pressure. The government also interfered with its advertising and seized copies being sent overseas.
Lee publicly complained about this treatment during the 1959 Temporary Provincial Assembly meeting, revealing many more arrests and sentencing of his staff, including both managing editor and deputy managing editor, various editors, one reporter and a few sales staff. Many were quickly released, but Ni and several others remained incarcerated.
“During the Japanese colonial era, Taiwanese could still in a limited capacity run their own papers,” Lee says. “Taiwan has returned to the motherland, but the government treats a loyal and patriotic Taiwanese cultural professional this way. How is this fair? I must take this chance to protest.”
FORCED OUT
Seriously facing financial difficulties that year, Lee hoped to find new backers, many of who were loyal to the KMT. The new investors announced a restructuring of the paper in 1959 that relegated Lee to chairman, with Taipei City Council Speaker Chang Hsing-chuan (張祥傳) as the new publisher.
Lee refused to acknowledge this, and Chang sued. During the legal proceedings, Free China founder Lei Chen (雷震) was arrested for trying to form a new opposition party. With Lee still in control of the paper, he pledged his unwavering support for Lei, which didn’t help his court case.
Lee lost, and the Public Opinion Press under his tenure shut down on March 5, 1961. The new owners revived it for a few years, but eventually sold it to the United Daily News, where it became the Economic Daily News (經濟日報) which is still in circulation today.
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