Up to 5,041 informers were active on more than 80 university campuses in 1983, when the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authoritarian regime monitored students through its Chunfeng Project (春風計畫), Investigation Bureau archives have showed.
Asked by the Transitional Justice Commission to study the about 3,000 files the bureau transferred to the National Archives Administration, former Taiwan Bar Association chairman Lin Kuo-ming (林國明) said that some incumbent lawmakers, including Democratic Progressive Party legislators Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱), had been targets of the KMT’s surveillance efforts.
The two lawmakers took part in the 1990 Wild Lily Student Movement, a pivotal moment in the nation’s democratization that resulted in the dismissal of the National Assembly and the abolition of the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion (動員戡亂時期臨時條款).
Once Lin’s research is completed, the commission would provide an account of the surveillance to the public, commission spokeswoman Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) said.
Further investigation is needed to establish how many people the Chungfeng Project had placed under surveillance, Yeh added.
In a bid to curtail student movements, the KMT in the early 1970s integrated its educational, administrative and intelligence resources to create the project, the commission said.
In 1975, it is estimated that at least 3,900 people worked for the project on university campuses nationwide, it said.
Project personnel would meet every year on average until the KMT in 1983 instructed the Ministry of Education to convene campus stabilization meetings to strengthen surveillance on university campuses, it added.
Chang Liao said that the commission had informed the two legislators about the declassified archives, adding that he had been aware of KMT informers at university, but had not known who they were.
After browsing through the files, he had gathered some clues about one informer, who had assumed the name Chang Chien (張健) and served as an executive in the student sports club, he said.
Chang Chien had been a perpetrator and victim of the KMT’s propaganda promoting loyalty to the party and the nation, Chang Liao said, adding that it is not necessary to reveal the identity of Chang Chien, who might have reflected on his past wrongdoing.
If he was to meet Chang Chien again, he would laugh it off and give him a hug, Chang Liao said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS