The lifting of martial law was a reaction to public demand to exercise their rights rather than the benevolent gesture of a particular individual, President Chen Shui-bian (
Martial law was implemented on May 20, 1949, and was not lifted until July 15, 1987.
"Ending martial law not only meant we wanted to fight for the freedom to organize political parties and the right to vote, but also to tell the dictator that the people were the real masters of the nation and all rights that had been taken from the people should be returned in full to the people," Chen, wearing a green protest headband, said at a rally at Taipei's Lungshan Temple to mark the occasion.
PHOTO: CNA
The rally, sponsored by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), reached a climax when Chen, Vice President Annette Lu (
They then recreated a sit-in that Chen, Hsieh, Chang and other democracy activists had staged inside the temple on May 19, 1986, to demand the lifting of martial law. A group of DPP staffers were dressed in police uniforms, acting as riot cops from the martial law period to stop the protesters.
Hundreds of onlookers waved flags and chanted slogans.
Calling the martial law period "a dark era without right and wrong and justice," Chen said every Taiwanese had been "victimized" under the rule.
Commemorating the hardships that the public went through, martial law is a "a reminder that we should not make the same mistake again," he said.
Addressing the pan-blue camp's accusations that the DPP was seeking political gains by playing up the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) past ills, Chen said such criticism was a "total denial of the efforts Taiwanese have made over the past 100 years or so."
Chen said that the mindset and ideals of people who had made such accusations were trapped in the martial law era, adding that they continued to look back and long for a time when they occupied a "prom-inent position and were alienated from the common people."
Hsieh said that although he has advocated "reconciliation and coexistence" and that it is right to forgive those who inflicted harm through martial law, "we can never allow the party that inflicted this harm to rule us again."
"We can forgive a `caretaker' who harmed our people, raped our daughters and stole our property, but we can never allow him to be the caretaker again," he said. "It is not a matter of right and wrong. It is a matter of defending the character of Taiwanese people."
Meanwhile, the Government Information Office and the Kaohsiung City Government will sponsor a concert today in Kaohsiung to mark the 20th anniversary of the end of martial law.
The concert, to be held at Jungkuang pier in Kaohsiung, will feature songs and melodies banned during the martial law era.
It is expected to attract more than 20,000 people, a Kaohsiung official said.
For safety concerns, it is suggested that participants use public transportation in order to avoid traffic jams.
Traffic controls will be imposed in the nearby region beginning at 2pm. The concert will take place from 7pm to 10pm.
Additional reporting by CNA and AP
Also see stories:
Taiwanese society under martial law remembered
Novelists share their experiences
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS