The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday released its first report, clearing pioneer democracy advocate and former Taipei City councilor Lin Shui-chuan (林水泉), who was imprisoned by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Lin’s case was chosen for the commission’s first investigation, as it was among the most prominent cases of political persecution during the White Terror era, the NHRC said.
NHRC Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) said Lin ran as an independent candidate for Taipei City councilor in 1960, but in 1961 the KMT branded him a “hoodlum,” and imprisoned him without due judicial process.
Photo courtesy of the National Human Rights Commission via CNA
Lin had the courage to criticize the KMT government for supressing people’s rights, Chen said. “What happened to Lin epitomized the many other cases of human rights abuse during the KMT’s authoritarian control of Taiwan.”
“The injustices and atrocities committed in the past have caused pain and suffering for the victims,” Chen said, adding that cases such as Lin’s are evidence of an authoritarian regime abusing its power, and can be used to educate future generations about human rights.
Lin was among the early leaders of the dangwai (黨外, “outside the party”) movement and lost the municipal election in 1960. The Taiwan Garrison Command arrested him as a hoodlum in 1961, and Lin was jailed on Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) for just under two years.
After his release, Lin shocked the KMT by winning the Taipei City councilor race in 1964, but could not finish his term, due to a government crackdown in 1967, in which many dangwai figures were arrested.
In a military court ruling, Lin and his associates were found guilty of subversion. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, which was later reduced to 10 years.
Lin fought for justice for years. He received compensation and the charge of subversion was overturned, but until now, government agencies had rejected his petition to clear his name of being a hoodlum.
The NHRC’s investigation was completed in April, and Lin had been informed of its findings, but the report was not released due to a local COVID-19 outbreak.
Lin, now living in the US, spoke to the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday.
He said that although the decision had taken 60 years, “I am glad that the current government has cleared my good name.”
“I never killed anyone, did not assault people, was not violent and did not do anything criminal, so I was never a hoodlum,” he said. “It was political persecution by the KMT government, because I ran in elections and won a councilor seat. While campaigning, I advocated for democracy and freedom for Taiwanese, and revealed to the public the KMT’s dictatorship and suppression of civil liberties.”
“The report and having my name cleared can never make up for the physical and mental suffering caused by the agents of the KMT regime,” he said.
Asked about his experience, he said: “Yes, I was tortured and beaten by the Taiwan Garrison Command, who forced confessions from political dissidents... What could you do at the time? KMT troops and police controlled the government and the whole society.”
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man
RSS