DPP legislative whip Chang Chun-hung's (
At a press conference called by former mayor of Hsinchu Tsai Jen-chien (
But instead, Chang burst into tears as he criticized the media for abusing press freedom.
"Seeing the media abuse freedom of the press to this extent, I'd rather go back to my home in Chinmei [referring to a prison for political prisoners] where there are iron bars to protect me," said the 64-year-old native son in a rare Beijing accent.
Chang added that the media should not play God or jump to conclusions before any legal case is closed or when a case is in legal proceedings.
Dubbed the party's "theory master" by the media, Chung is the only sitting DPP lawmaker of the "Formosa generation" (
When opposition parties were still outlawed during the martial law era, the "Formosa generation" built a political movement around Formosa magazine and helped push Taiwan toward democracy and away from authoritarian rule.
On Dec. 10, 1979, a state crackdown followed an anti-government parade in Kaohsiung that was organized by the magazine. The ruling KMT jailed eight people for their involvement in what later became known as the Kaohsiung Incident (
The Kaohsiung Eight include Chang, Vice President Annette Lu (
Shortly after Chang was released from jail in 1989, the DPP was legalized. He joined the party and became the party's secretary-general.
Because of different ideals, Chang formed a party faction called Formosa, which later split into the New Era Institute and New Dynamic factions.
With a master's in political science from National Taiwan University, Chung was first a KMT member for 14 years and worked at the KMT headquarters for four years.
When the KMT was about to expel Chang because of the pro-democracy theory he advocated in the magazine he served as the editor, Chang withdrew from the party and joined yet another liberal magazine called Taiwan Politics.
The magazine, however, was short-lived. Financially desperate, Chang and his former wife, incumbent DPP lawmaker Hsu Jung-shu (
Six months into the business, the eatery went bust. The couple then moved back to Chang's hometown in Nantou County where Chang made a comeback in his political career.
In 1977, Chang announced his bid to run in the provincial councilor elections and won thanks to the KMT candidate's botched campaign strategy.
But just two years later, Chang and the seven other activists were thrown into jail.
In the meantime, Hsu was elected to the legislature and was in and out of the political limelight.
Lee Wen-chung (
"He [Chang] has inspired me to be a politician," Lee said. "I started to read his books and Taiwan Politics when I was in high school."
Lee said that Chang has a legitimate reason to feel disappointed with today's media.
"As a journalist during the White Terror era, he had to pay a high price for press freedom. Media nowadays, however, tread on the press freedoms strenuously fought for by their forerunners."
Lee described Chang as a "discontented intellectual" and the "role model of all intellectuals of the 1970s."
Another DPP legislator, Chen Zau-nan (
"During the KMT-ruling era, the media saw a suspect as a culprit and a culprit as a convict. The situation has improved little although the DPP has come to power," Chen said.
Chang's emotional appeal deserves the attention of both the media and the public, Chen said.
Chen, who has been Chang's friend and colleague with Chang for over a decade, described Chang as a "thinker" and a "straightforward individual."
"He dares to speak out and cares little about the consequences," he said. "Unlike some party members who prefer drastic measures, Chang worships moderation and peace."
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,