During the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) rule in Taiwan, martial law was implemented for 38 years without the Legislative Yuan’s approval or following proper procedures, setting a world record for a so-called democratic country.
When the 228 Incident occurred in 1947, then-chief executive of Taiwan Province, Chen Yi (陳儀), declared martial law. However, the declaration was invalid, because then-acting president Li Zongren (李宗仁) was not informed as stipulated by law. Martial law was lifted on March 1 that same year and reinstated on March 9, until being lifted again by the first Taiwan provincial governor, Wei Dao-ming (魏道明), on May 19.
On May 20, 1949, martial law was again declared by Chen Cheng (陳誠), who held the positions of Taiwan provincial governor and commander-in-chief of the Taiwan provincial police. That year, the Republic of China (ROC) government was overthrown by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which established the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
During an interview with Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham on Oct. 7, 1986, then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) revealed his intention to lift martial law. It was officially lifted on July 15, 1987, following the formulation of the National Security Act (國家安全法).
The year that martial law was lifted marked the advancement of Taiwan’s democratization movement, with the ban on the formation of political parties broken by opposition figures who formed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The unprecedented martial law period is a painful scar on Taiwan’s history — it is the KMT’s greatest evil and the ROC’s shame. Martial law was justified using the excuses of defeating communism and a need to restore order. However, in reality, it was simply a weapon of political control for the KMT.
In 2007, 20 years after martial law was lifted, the Ministry of Justice presented a report to the Legislative Yuan saying that there were 29,470 political cases tried by military courts during the martial law period, amounting to 140,000 innocent victims. According to a Judicial Yuan report, there were between 60,000 and 70,000 political cases that impacted an average of three people each, which would add up to about 200,000 political victims.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 people were executed, 40 percent of whom were overseas Chinese. Due to their involvement with the CCP, overseas Chinese were disproportionately harmed during the White Terror era.
Taiwan’s 38 years of martial law caused immense damage. In light of South Korea’s emergency martial law declaration earlier this month, not only did the KMT — which has never apologized to the public — fail to reflect on its past actions, it has instead opted to criticize the DPP.
The KMT does not cherish Taiwan’s democratic values, instead bowing obediently to the CCP that seeks a monopoly on political power and even supporting the PRC that once overthrew it. Following the end of martial law and the start of democratization, Taiwan’s transitional justice gave shelter to the KMT. However, given its transition from an anti-communist party to one that curries the CCP’s favor and undermines governance, the time has come for the public to cast it aside.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
In the first year of his second term, US President Donald Trump continued to shake the foundations of the liberal international order to realize his “America first” policy. However, amid an atmosphere of uncertainty and unpredictability, the Trump administration brought some clarity to its policy toward Taiwan. As expected, bilateral trade emerged as a major priority for the new Trump administration. To secure a favorable trade deal with Taiwan, it adopted a two-pronged strategy: First, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” chip business from the US, indicating that if Taipei did not address Washington’s concerns in this strategic sector, it could revisit its Taiwan
In a stark reminder of China’s persistent territorial overreach, Pema Wangjom Thongdok, a woman from Arunachal Pradesh holding an Indian passport, was detained for 18 hours at Shanghai Pudong Airport on Nov. 24 last year. Chinese immigration officials allegedly informed her that her passport was “invalid” because she was “Chinese,” refusing to recognize her Indian citizenship and claiming Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet. Officials had insisted that Thongdok, an Indian-origin UK resident traveling for a conference, was not Indian despite her valid documents. India lodged a strong diplomatic protest, summoning the Chinese charge d’affaires in Delhi and demanding
Immediately after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) “Justice Mission” exercise at the end of last year, a question was posed to Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal regarding recent developments involving the exercises around Taiwan, and how he viewed their impact on regional peace and stability. His answer was somewhat perplexing to me as a curious student of Taiwanese affairs. “India closely follows developments across the Indo-Pacific region,” he said, adding: “We have an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region, in view of our significant trade, economic, people-to-people, and maritime interests. We urge all concerned
In the past 72 hours, US Senators Roger Wicker, Dan Sullivan and Ruben Gallego took to social media to publicly rebuke the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over the defense budget. I understand that Taiwan’s head is on the chopping block, and the urgency of its security situation cannot be overstated. However, the comments from Wicker, Sullivan and Gallego suggest they have fallen victim to a sophisticated disinformation campaign orchestrated by an administration in Taipei that treats national security as a partisan weapon. The narrative fed to our allies claims the opposition is slashing the defense budget to kowtow to the Chinese
RSS