Several foreign figures in Taiwan's democracy movement yesterday recalled the dark days of martial law as part of a series of human- rights activities the government is organizing to fill in historical gaps and to tell forgotten stories.
The figures, including well-known human-rights activist Linda Gail Arrigo and Munakata Takayuki, who helped secure the release of then-dissident Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) from prison in the 1960s, came from several countries, including the US, Japan and the Netherlands. Many of them had been blacklisted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration because of their involvement in the democracy movement.
PHOTO: CNA
President Chen Shui-bian (
"We can forgive historical mistakes, but we cannot forget the truth," Chen said.
Chen said that Taiwan had invited these friends back to tell their stories. Most importantly, he said, their families had also been invited so they could understand what their loved ones had done for Taiwan.
Part of the conference -- titled"A Journey of Remembrance and Appreciation" -- organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, was devoted to the role played by churches in the nation's democratization, especially the Presbyterian Church.
One participant, American priest James Collignon, first arrived in Taiwan in 1957. During a time when the Roman Catholic Church was on good terms with the KMT administration, he chose to associate with Protestants, including pro-independence Presbyterians.
"I was not a political person, and my problem with the administration was not a political one but rather a moral problem," Collignon said.
"The administration was telling a political lie -- it told people it was going to retake China," he said.
Collignon said that back then the government controlled the media and had ample ways to persuade people to believe their lies. But when persuasion failed, the government resorted to force.
He said he felt sorry that the Catholic Church at that time was cozy with the government and stood by and tolerated everything the KMT did.
An American, Presbyterian minister Donald Wilson, came to Taiwan in 1959. He was first told by his mission committee to study Mandarin. But after a while, the local church committee asked him to start studying Taiwanese.
"Our mission office worker, who was Taiwanese born, told me that when he heard someone speak [Mandarin] his initial reaction was to take two steps backward because for him Mandarin was equal to oppression," Wilson said.
Wilson also knew Peng, the forerunner of the Taiwanese democratic and independence movement. When Peng was imprisoned, he would visit Peng's wife. Later, when Peng was put under house arrest, he continued to visit them.
However, when Wilson and his family returned to the US in 1967, he was informed that he had become persona non grata. He had to wait until 1980 to return to Taiwan, although still under the strict surveillance of security agents.
Japanese Kobayashi Masanari, who was arrested for aiding the democratic movement, told of his experience behind bars.
Masanari was arrested in the 1960s for helping to distribute pro-democracy flyers. He was put in a cell next to Hsieh Tsung-min (謝聰敏), a student of Peng's who had co-authored the 1964 Declaration of Taiwan Self-Salvation.
"At the time Hsieh was tortured. I could also hear the howls of other students who were tortured. When I heard that sound I felt pain as if I had been beaten myself," he said.
After his release, Masanari helped deliver Hsieh's letters to Peng, who by then was in the US. Masanari said that when Peng heard of Hsieh's death sentence, Peng decided to release the letters to The New York Times. Publication of the letters and the resulting pressure from US congressmen deterred the KMT government from carrying out the execution.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of