The Ministry of Education and intelligence agencies were behind Huang Erh-hsuan’s (黃爾璇) firing from Soochow University in 1983, the Executive Yuan’s Transitional Justice Commission has said, deeming the incident a case of political persecution.
Huang was an associate professor of political science at the university. He was also a founding member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and served as a Presidential Office adviser. He passed away on Feb. 9.
The commission on March 13 launched an investigation into Huang’s firing.
Photo: Screen grab from the Internet
It contacted Huang’s daughter to obtain his notes, diaries, manuscripts and articles to gain a better understanding of the social atmosphere at the time of his firing, the commission said, adding that it interviewed Huang’s former colleagues, friends and relatives to ascertain if there is any information that needs to made public.
In light of the Huang family’s long-standing belief that his sacking was caused by political interference, the commission said it also combed through political archives looking for evidence of Huang being monitored by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime.
A direct link has been established between Huang’s firing and interference by the KMT and intelligence agencies, which had determined that Huang’s “inciting remarks and actions had incited students,” the commission’s preliminary findings showed.
The commission found that then-university president Duan Mu-kai (端木愷) had written a letter to Huang in June 1983, saying that the school was planning to reduce the number of classes and faculty at its Department of Political Science, citing graduates’ difficulty in finding jobs and low enrollment rates.
Huang was subsequently fired from the university.
Colleges and universities at the time were mostly infiltrated by investigation bureau agents, military education officers, and KMT and China Youth Corps members, the commission said, citing the interviewees.
The university reduced the number of classes at the department from two to one following Huang’s firing, but raised it back to two soon afterward, which aroused suspicion, the commission said.
The incident implicates the ministry, as universities need its permission to change the number of classes, it added.
Evidence points at the ministry and intelligence agencies as the masterminds behind Huang’s sacking, but the decision was carried out by the university, the commission said, adding that its conclusion is backed by political archives.
The commission said the then-KMT regime stepped up its monitoring of public and private colleges, and integrated its political, party and military systems on campuses after a student movement was galvanized by the 1971-1972 Baodiao movement to defend the nation’s sovereignty claim over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台).
In 1971, the then-KMT regime established a mechanism called the “Chun Feng Briefing” (春風會報), which was tasked with decisionmaking, collecting intelligence on “campus security,” and overseeing the so-called campus stability groups formed by faculty and investigation bureau agents to eliminate “threats” on campus, the commission said.
It said its investigation has found that Huang’s firing was favored by the Chun Feng Briefing, citing records of meetings from the first half of 1983, when Huang was reported by “whistle-blowers” as having made improper comments and was branded an “extremist” for allegedly trying to incite students and participating in “inappropriate activities.”
Records show that the authorities were worried that the university’s development might be hindered if Huang ran for department head and endorsed candidates vying for the leadership of students’ associations, the commission said.
The then-KMT regime’s crackdown on Huang did not cease after his firing, the commission said, adding that the party contacted other schools to prevent Huang from taking up teaching positions at them.
There might be other victims of political interference by the Chun Feng Briefing and campus stability groups, the commission said, adding that it would investigate the matter further to reveal the truth behind on-campus monitoring activities and discover any human rights violations.
The commission called on the KMT to confront its past human rights violations and infringements of constitutional democracy, and refrain from impeding society’s effort to seek reconciliation.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by