The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday released its first report, clearing pioneer democracy advocate and former Taipei City councilor Lin Shui-chuan (林水泉), who was imprisoned by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Lin’s case was chosen for the commission’s first investigation, as it was among the most prominent cases of political persecution during the White Terror era, the NHRC said.
NHRC Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) said Lin ran as an independent candidate for Taipei City councilor in 1960, but in 1961 the KMT branded him a “hoodlum,” and imprisoned him without due judicial process.
Photo courtesy of the National Human Rights Commission via CNA
Lin had the courage to criticize the KMT government for supressing people’s rights, Chen said. “What happened to Lin epitomized the many other cases of human rights abuse during the KMT’s authoritarian control of Taiwan.”
“The injustices and atrocities committed in the past have caused pain and suffering for the victims,” Chen said, adding that cases such as Lin’s are evidence of an authoritarian regime abusing its power, and can be used to educate future generations about human rights.
Lin was among the early leaders of the dangwai (黨外, “outside the party”) movement and lost the municipal election in 1960. The Taiwan Garrison Command arrested him as a hoodlum in 1961, and Lin was jailed on Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) for just under two years.
After his release, Lin shocked the KMT by winning the Taipei City councilor race in 1964, but could not finish his term, due to a government crackdown in 1967, in which many dangwai figures were arrested.
In a military court ruling, Lin and his associates were found guilty of subversion. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, which was later reduced to 10 years.
Lin fought for justice for years. He received compensation and the charge of subversion was overturned, but until now, government agencies had rejected his petition to clear his name of being a hoodlum.
The NHRC’s investigation was completed in April, and Lin had been informed of its findings, but the report was not released due to a local COVID-19 outbreak.
Lin, now living in the US, spoke to the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday.
He said that although the decision had taken 60 years, “I am glad that the current government has cleared my good name.”
“I never killed anyone, did not assault people, was not violent and did not do anything criminal, so I was never a hoodlum,” he said. “It was political persecution by the KMT government, because I ran in elections and won a councilor seat. While campaigning, I advocated for democracy and freedom for Taiwanese, and revealed to the public the KMT’s dictatorship and suppression of civil liberties.”
“The report and having my name cleared can never make up for the physical and mental suffering caused by the agents of the KMT regime,” he said.
Asked about his experience, he said: “Yes, I was tortured and beaten by the Taiwan Garrison Command, who forced confessions from political dissidents... What could you do at the time? KMT troops and police controlled the government and the whole society.”
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,