Tuesday was the anniversary of the martyrdom of freedom advocate Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕). On the morning of April 7, 1989, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) — acting on orders as then-head of the Taipei City Police Department Criminal Investigation Division — led a team into the offices of Freedom Era Weekly to arrest Deng, who had always supported freedom of thought, a cause he had long before sworn to fight to the very end for.
Rather than allowing himself to be taken into custody, Deng chose self-immolation. He was 42 years old.
Hou was later promoted to head of the National Police Agency during the tenure of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), and when New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) took office, Hou was his deputy. Hou has been unstinting in his service of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
During the 1980s, Deng made major contributions to three major political reform movements: The lifting of martial law; the creation of a new constitution; and the establishment of a new nation. Having championed the 228 Justice and Peace Movement and helped to break the spell of the party-state, he had come to be seen as an “activist philosopher.”
By choosing to take his own life, he demonstrated his resolve to pay the ultimate price to keep him from a denial of freedom. His sacrifice was a huge contribution to the development of democracy in Taiwan.
Deng was not a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, but through his Freedom Era Weekly he fought for his idea of a collective of free people.
“I am Deng Nan-jung,” he said, “and I advocate Taiwanese independence” — words that exemplify perfectly his commitment to his vocation.
While he is no longer with us, his spirit lives on. His eulogy says it so well: The flames that engulf shall not destroy.
Last year, Yilan County and Tainan took the lead in designating April 7 as Freedom of Expression Day, organizing various events to illustrate the significance and values of freedom and liberty. This year, Freedom of Expression Day is being extended to other cities and areas, including Kaohsiung, Yunlin County, Taichung, Pingtung County, Chiayi County, Changhua County and Taoyuan. Even more cities and counties are set to designate April 7 as Freedom of Expression Day.
Thought can only blossom when freedom of expression exists, and only when this is allowed to happen is the development of a vibrant culture possible. Freedom of Expression Day has about it the idea of a cultural festival. The events for this year’s Freedom of Expression Day included concerts and lectures on the theme of advocacy.
The concerts were about music’s ability to liberate the body; the lectures about promoting profound introspection; and interwoven into this, the spirit of the Sunflower and Umbrella movements — born of the passion and commitment of young people in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
During the KMT-imposed Martial Law era, it was the Taiwan Garrison Command that enforced the law, casting a shadow of oppression over the nation. That role is now played by China.
Many artists and people working in the arts live with Beijing looking over their shoulder, finding it difficult to be faithful to themselves in how they express their ideas. In the past, the struggle was to wrest back stolen freedoms; now, it is to protect those freedoms, and make sure they are not stolen again. Different times, different decades, but Taiwan retains a duty to freedom and liberty.
While commemorating Deng’s martyrdom of 26 years ago, we must not forget to continue to march along the path to freedom.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Paul Cooper
Although former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo — known for being the most pro-Taiwan official to hold the post — is not in the second administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, he has maintained close ties with the former president and involved himself in think tank activities, giving him firsthand knowledge of the US’ national strategy. On Monday, Pompeo visited Taiwan for the fourth time, attending a Formosa Republican Association’s forum titled “Towards Permanent World Peace: The Shared Mission of the US and Taiwan.” At the event, he reaffirmed his belief in Taiwan’s democracy, liberty, human rights and independence, highlighting a
The US Department of Defense recently released this year’s “Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.” This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of China’s military capabilities, strategic objectives and evolving global ambitions. Taiwan features prominently in this year’s report, as capturing the nation remains central to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) vision of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” a goal he has set for 2049. The report underscores Taiwan’s critical role in China’s long-term strategy, highlighting its significance as a geopolitical flashpoint and a key target in China’s quest to assert dominance
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) last week released the latest job vacancy data in Taiwan, which highlighted how many job openings firms had yet to be filled at the end of August last year. The data also revealed how the vacant positions were closely related to the business climate that industrial and services sectors faced at the time. The DGBAS collects data on job vacancies at the end of February, May, August and November every year. The number of job vacancies includes recruits for expanding operations and additional production lines as well as for openings related to
The Legislative Yuan passed legislation on Tuesday aimed at supporting the middle-aged generation — defined as people aged 55 or older willing and able to work — in a law initially proposed by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Wu Chun-cheng (吳春城) to help the nation transition from an aged society to a super-aged society. The law’s passage was celebrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the TPP. The brief show of unity was welcome news, especially after 10 months of political fighting and unconstitutional amendments that are damaging democracy and the constitutional order, eliciting concern
RSS