On Sept. 20, 1964, Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) was arrested for treason for advocating democracy in Taiwan. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 1965 and put under house arrest later the same year after receiving a special pardon.
On Jan. 2, 1970, Peng left his family and began a 22-year exile.
At a book launch in Taipei yesterday, the 86-year-old shared his successful escape from the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime 39 years ago, which he describes in his book titled A Perfect Escape.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
“I often ask myself: If I had made a different decision, what would have become of me?” Peng, former senior presidential adviser under the Democratic Progressive Party administration, told an audience yesterday.
After Japan’s defeat in World War II, Peng, who at the time was studying political science at the University of Tokyo, had to decide whether to stay in Japan or return to Taiwan.
If he had stayed in Japan, he would have had to change his Chinese name and would probably have ended up teaching, practicing law, writing or working in the public sector, Peng said.
“But I loved this country [Taiwan] so much that I wanted to go home … It did not take me long to decide,” he said.
Filled with patriotism and ideals, Peng was in for a major disappointment after he saw how the KMT was governing Taiwan.
Peng returned to Taiwan in 1946 and studied political science at National Taiwan University. In 1951, he obtained a scholarship to study at McGill University in Montreal. He was offered a job there, but turned it down. He studied law at the University of Paris and obtained a doctor of laws degree in 1954.
Peng said the KMT government tried to recruit him after his return from Paris. But after witnessing the 228 Incident, the imposition of Martial Law and the White Terror, he had to decide between serving under the KMT and securing wealth and status, or following his conscience and fighting for freedom and democracy.
In 1964, Peng was arrested along with two of his students, Hsieh Tsung-min (謝聰敏) and Wei Ting-chao (魏廷朝), for publishing the Declaration of Formosan Self-Salvation.
For his own safety and that of his family, Peng said he decided to flee the country. With help from various individuals — Peng said he had to be careful with details in the book to protect the privacy of individuals and respect the wish of those who helped him but wanted to remain anonymous — his escape took him through Hong Kong, Bangkok, the Soviet Union and Denmark before he arrived in Stockholm, where he was granted political asylum.
Peng later moved to the US with held from his friends and joined the campaign for Taiwan independence.
Peng yesterday lamented the dramatic change in Taiwan’s political climate since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was elected last year, saying the country seemed to be gradually returning to the old days when the KMT was in power.
“Can we accept that the eight years of freedom and democracy we enjoyed were just a short episode? Is it normal to have a foreign regime govern this land? We must carefully think about that,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and