For many democracy activists in Taiwan, the Independence Evening Post (自立晚報) is not just a newspaper, it's also a piece of history, a chronicle of the battles they fought against a authoritarian KMT regime.
Founded in 1947, the Post was the first paper in the country to advocate "independence from political parties" during a time when Taiwan was ruled by martial law and press freedom was only a dream.
During its 54-year history, the paper stood out from its counterparts by challenging the KMT's dominance and lending support to dissidents and non-KMT politicians alike.
In 1977, when former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (
Though elected as a county magistrate, Hsu was removed from office for allegedly taking part in an illegal protest.
In 1979, after traveling to the US and commenting on the repressive handling of a peaceful human rights protest which came to be known as the Kaohsiung Incident, Hsu was blacklisted by the KMT regime.
Six years later Hsu was prevented from entering Taiwan for a second time. The Post was the only media organization to report the event.
In 1987, the Post again flouted governmental rules by sending two of its reporters -- Hsu Lu (
Besides having recorded the significant events in Taiwan's political transformation, the Post also acted as a cradle to nurture many prominent journalists. Several of them serve in vital posts in the Chen administration, including the deputy secretary general of the National Security Council and former publisher of the Taipei Times, Antonio Chiang (
In 1988, the Post group founded a morning newspaper one year after restrictions on the press were lifted.
But the frequent changing of management over the last decade seems to have hastened the publication's demise.
After a financial crisis in 1995, the paper was taken over by KMT Taipei City Councilor Chen Cheng-chung (陳政忠), who led the paper down a pro-KMT path.
After considerable struggle, the morning newspaper was shut down in 1999.
In October, Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), a DPP city councilor in Taipei, took over management of the newspaper. The return to DPP favor, however, appears to have done nothing to improve its fortunes.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or