Taiwan on Monday celebrated Freedom of Speech Day. The commemoration is not an international day, and was first established in Tainan by President William Lai (賴清德) in 2012, when he was mayor of that city. The day was elevated to a national holiday in 2016 by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Lai chose April 7, because it marks the anniversary of the death of democracy advocate Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), who started Freedom Era Weekly to promote freedom of expression.
Thirty-six years ago, a warrant for Deng’s arrest had been issued after he refused to appear in court to answer charges of insurrection for publishing a proposal for a constitution to replace the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution written in China. He self-immolated in his office while police coming to take him into custody banged on his door.
Deng lived in a very different time. Lai last month officially identified the People’s Republic of China as a “foreign hostile force.” In 1989, the year of his death, Deng was grappling with a different kind of foreign hostile force: He was seeking more freedoms in Taiwan under the foreign regime of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that had taken control of Taiwan and imposed martial law in 1949.
Martial law had been lifted two years previously by then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), but the regime’s paranoia remained, hence the insurrection charge for calling for a replacement to the ROC Constitution. Taiwanese-born Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) became leader of the KMT and president after Chiang’s death in 1988, but direct presidential elections would not come until 1996 after pressure from the 1990 Wild Lily student movement. Lee would later become known as the “father of Taiwanese democracy,” but neither the movement nor the democratization that it led to would have been known to Deng. He had still been fighting in the dark, and yet could be called a trailblazer for the nation’s eventual democratization.
Were Deng still alive today, he would have witnessed quite a remarkable transformation. Taiwan has a vibrant and competitive democratic system, and is considered “free,” scoring an impressive 94 out of a possible 100 points in the Freedom in the World 2025 report by Freedom House. By comparison, the US scored 84, and China 9.
In the scoring system, a country is awarded 0 to 4 points for each of 10 political rights indicators and 15 civil liberties indicators.
Taiwan scored the maximum 4 points for free and fair elections of national government and legislative representatives; an independent judiciary; openness and transparency in government; due process in civil and criminal matters; the right to organize political parties; individual freedoms to express personal views on political subjects without fear of surveillance or retribution; and the existence of free and independent media.
One of the few metrics in which the nation dropped a point is whether people’s political choices are free from domination by “forces that are external to the political sphere, or by political forces that employ extrapolitical means.” The report points the finger for this directly at China.
Ironically, with freedom of speech comes the necessity to set judiciously defined bounds when the exercise of that freedom puts the existence of the nation at risk.
In a speech delivered to mark Freedom of Speech Day on Monday, Lai defined those bounds, saying that the government would act against anyone who echoes Chinese propaganda aimed at inciting an invasion of Taiwan or the subversion of the government.
Deng advocated pure freedom of speech to resist the foreign regime governing the nation. Now, Taiwan needs to set boundaries to resist the enemy from within assisting the enemy beyond its borders.
You wish every Taiwanese spoke English like I do. I was not born an anglophone, yet I am paid to write and speak in English. It is my working language and my primary idiom in private. I am more than bilingual: I think in English; it is my language now. Can you guess how many native English speakers I had as teachers in my entire life? Zero. I only lived in an English-speaking country, Australia, in my 30s, and it was because I was already fluent that I was able to live and pursue a career. English became my main language during adulthood
Somehow, US intelligence identified “the Houthis’ top missile guy” and pinpointed his exact location. At 1348 hours (Washington time), March 15, President Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz texted, “positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building.” The unsuspecting Romeo entered. High above, the drone monitoring the building registered a flash. When the smoke cleared, Mr. Waltz texted, “…And it’s now collapsed.” RIP. The star-crossed “top missile guy” had been target number one in the now uproarious US Navy bombing campaign on that Sunday against the Yemeni rebels who have been holding the Red Sea hostage since October 19,
Taiwan on Monday celebrated Freedom of Speech Day. The commemoration is not an international day, and was first established in Tainan by President William Lai (賴清德) in 2012, when he was mayor of that city. The day was elevated to a national holiday in 2016 by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). Lai chose April 7, because it marks the anniversary of the death of democracy advocate Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), who started Freedom Era Weekly to promote freedom of expression. Thirty-six years ago, a warrant for Deng’s arrest had been issued after he refused to appear in court to answer charges of
The Opinion page has published several articles and editorials over the past few weeks addressing Taiwan’s efforts to leverage unique or strong aspects of its culture to increase international awareness of the nation. These have included submissions by foreign journalists and overseas students, highlighting how bubble milk tea, Guinness World Record attempts, the entertainment sectors, impressive scenery, world-class cuisine and important contributions to the high-tech supply chain can enhance Taiwan’s recognition overseas and therefore its soft power. That entails competing for attention in already crowded sectors. Other nations, after all, offer popular entertainment exports, beautiful scenic spots and great food.
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