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."
MUSICAL INTERLUDE: During the altercations, KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin at one point pulled out a flute and started to play the national anthem A massive brawl erupted between governing and opposition lawmakers in the main chamber of the legislature in Taipei yesterday over legislative reforms. President-elect William Lai (賴清德) is to be inaugurated on Monday, but his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its majority in the legislature and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been working with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to promote their mutual ideas. The opposition parties said the legislative reforms would enable better oversight of the Executive Yuan, including a proposal to criminalize officials who are deemed to make false statements in the legislature. “The DPP does not want this to be
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
Singapore yesterday swore in Lawrence Wong (黃循財) as the city-state’s new prime minister in a ceremony broadcast live on television after Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) stepped down following two decades in office. Wong, formerly deputy prime minister, was inaugurated at the Istana government office shortly after 8pm to become the second person outside the Lee family to lead the nation. “I ... do solemnly swear that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as prime minister according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or favor, affection or ill-will. So help me God,” the
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,