There is a case for saying that post-World War II Taiwan’s political reform movement began with the human rights movement. After the White Terror era of the 1950s, the installation of export processing zones in the 1960s and subsequent economic growth gradually marked a rebirth from the traumatic history of the 228 Incident of Feb. 28, 1947, a brutal crackdown by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime that later resulted in the deaths and imprisonment of tens of thousands of Taiwanese.
In the 1970s, the revitalization of Taiwanese literature triggered criticism from the ruling authorities and cultural organizations, sparking a war over nativist literature. The use of written criticism over political imprisonment reflected a shift in the times — Taiwanese had stood up after a long period of oppression, and the party-state system could no longer do as it pleased. Instead, it had no choice but to resort to wielding the pen, with writers Peng Ke (彭歌) and Yu Kuang-chung (余光中) leading the offensive against nativist literature. After enduring debate, the term “Taiwanese literature” gained recognition — it was no longer referred to as “Chinese literature in Taiwan.”
On Dec. 10, 1979, a Human Rights Day rally in Kaohsiung organized by democracy leaders associated with Formosa Magazine triggered the Formosa Incident — also known as the Kaohsiung Incident — and a subsequent campaign of suppression. Many participants in the demonstration were prosecuted under military and civil law.
Over the span of just two decades — from the dangwai (“outside the party,” 黨外) democratic movement to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) founding, and from the DPP holding just a few seats in the legislature to eventually governing Taiwan — the nation was transformed entirely.
The long domination by the KMT’s one-party authoritarian rule was finally broken. Taiwan’s civil rights movement became more clearly defined with the formation of the DPP by members of the dangwai in 1986. This was soon followed by the lifting of martial law, the implementation of direct elections for public office and the nation’s landmark first direct presidential election in 1996. By 2000, Taiwan’s quiet revolution had carried the country into a new century and established a new framework. The KMT no longer had a monopoly on state power. However, the achievements of the civil rights movement had not fully resolved the nation’s most fundamental issues.
Back in 1949, the KMT-led Republic of China (ROC) relocated — or more accurately, went into exile — to Taiwan after being defeated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 1971, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) replaced the ROC as China’s representative in the UN. Then-president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) did nothing to establish distinct national conditions for Taiwan separate from that of the PRC, leaving unresolved issues surrounding Taiwan’s sovereignty that are still contentious today.
Taiwan’s human rights and civil rights indicators are already on par with that of the world’s most advanced democracies. However, its national sovereignty remains entangled with the contested identity of “China,” a title claimed by both the KMT and CCP. The KMT and CCP, once enemies, now share a common disdain and hostility toward Taiwan’s democratization, as if they are colluding.
Only once Taiwan has clearly established its independent sovereignty could it truly chart a new path forward as a nation. This is the new goal of political reform in Taiwan, and the key to long term peace and stability.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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