Monday was Taiwan’s Freedom of Speech Day, a day to commemorate the martyrdom of Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕) — the democracy advocate who self-immolated on the same date in 1989 — and honor him for insisting that Taiwanese have the right to advocate for Taiwan’s independence and the establishment of a constitution and a nation.
During that time, Deng was suppressed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government for expressing his opinions — he was even charged with insurrection. He sacrificed his life to protest those charges.
According to the most recent World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, Taiwan ranked first in East Asia for press freedom. The latest Freedom in the World 2025 report ranked Taiwan second in Asia for political rights and civil liberties, surpassed only by Japan. Taiwan has become one of the world’s leading exponents of freedom of speech.
As such, it is shocking to see a group demanding that the government respect freedom of speech when it comes to advocating for China’s unification with Taiwan through military force. Social media influencers and opinion leaders are spreading fake news to sway public opinion in an attempt to undermine public order and governance. Meanwhile, there have been rising incidents of people publicly insulting civil groups engaged in legitimate recall campaigns. The question is, should actions like this fall within the scope of protected freedom of speech?
Deng was the publisher of the political magazine Freedom Era Weekly, in which he espoused his editorial ideals and beliefs. The first was to uphold impartiality, selflessness and fairness, and to safeguard freedom of speech to promote democracy domestically and promote world peace. The second was to strive for the welfare of all citizens, and to fight crime, violence and corruption in the name of humanity and justice. The third was the equitable and prompt reporting of facts accompanied by editorial commentary that was open-minded and just. The last was to maintain an attitude of tolerance and a sense of responsibility and self-respect while maintaining vitality and originality.
Based on this, I believe that advocating for a military invasion of Taiwan, colluding with authoritarians and invaders to oppress Taiwan’s sovereignty and democratic freedoms, using foul language to verbally abuse and discriminate against others or using fake news and disinformation to intentionally deceive others are all examples of acts not protected under freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is meant to allow people to speak the truth, do the right thing, support just causes, demonstrate humanitarian concerns, and uphold the truth and democratic values. Speech that contravenes these principles is an abuse of this protected right. Thus — taking into account the protection of personal reputation, privacy and public interests — the Constitution authorizes imposing reasonable regulative restrictions on freedom of speech
On Freedom of Speech Day, I opened a book about Deng, titled The Wings of Freedom (禁錮、衝撞、自由 1986-1989), and carefully read about his views as well as the initiatives he was involved with in the three years prior to his passing. As I flipped through pages of photographs capturing the moment of his martyrdom and the subsequent public memorial processions held in his honor, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for Deng and those before him who sacrificed their lives in the fight for democracy and freedom.
Taiwanese must always keep in mind: “The freedom won by our elders, may posterity strive to preserve it in dignity.”
Yao Meng-chang is an assistant professor in Fu Jen Catholic University’s Department of Postgraduate Legal Studies.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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