Democracy pioneer and liberal Lei Chen (雷震) believed that human rights were paramount. He thought that sentiment toward the nation should be closely connected to the implementation of human rights and democracy, and that human rights and democracy should not be sacrificed for nationalism.
Hence, when the external situation changed for Taiwan, especially when the "communist bandits" -- the People's Republic of China (PRC) -- received international recognition, Lei changed his position on Taiwan's status.
After his release from prison in 1970 -- he served 10 years for publishing a magazine that promoted democracy -- Lei immediately recognized there was a lack of support in the international community for the Republic of China's (ROC) "one China" view.
Support for the PRC as the legal representative of China had entered the mainstream. Given these circumstances, although he was closely monitored by intelligence agents, Lei managed to give an interview to the Washington Post in 1971 where he clearly advocated "two Chinas." But in October of that year, the UN passed a proposal by Albania, which trans-ferred the ROC's right to represent China to the PRC.
On Jan. 10, 1972, Lei spoke with five top government leaders, including then president Chiang Kai-shek (
In his proposal, Lei demanded that the nation's name be changed to the Democratic State of China-Taiwan (中華台灣民主國), saying that it would only be just and proper for Taiwan to be transformed into a country. He demanded that those in power abandon the myth of the ROC because it betrayed the three elements required to achieve national status according to traditional political science -- the possession of territory, people and sovereignty. He called on the leadership to give up its claim to sovereignty over China.
He also urged the government to host meetings to create a new constitution for the Democratic State of China-Taiwan, in order to realize freedom and democracy.
Based on his understanding that "one China" referred to the PRC, Lei was afraid that because Taiwan was ruled by the ROC -- which had lost the right to represent China in the international community -- the PRC would claim that as the successor government to the ROC, it had the right to Taiwan. To avoid this threat to Taiwan's survival, Lei proposed an independent Taiwan, separate from the PRC, as a way to perpetuate its status as a sovereign state.
Those who believe in freedom and democracy but who also harbor feelings for China, should consider Lei's view.
Given that Chinese nationalism and the universal values of freedom and democracy are incompatible at this time, the reasonable solution should be to abandon Chinese nationalism to protect freedom and democracy in Taiwan.
Hsueh Hua-yuan is a professor in the Graduate Institute of Taiwan History at National Chengchi University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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