In April 1970, Cheng Tzu-tsai (鄭自才) and his brother-in-law Huang Wen-hsiung (黃文雄) attempted to assassinate then-vice premier Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) while he was visiting New York.
They were both apprehended after the attempt failed, and subsequently fled from the US after being released on bail. Cheng was later caught in Sweden and extradited back to the US, where he served a prison term.
However, the failed assassination attempt sparked a wave of Taiwanese independence movements overseas and forced Chiang to confront authoritarian governance issues when he later became president, lifting martial law in 1987.
Photo: CNA
Cheng returned to Taiwan in 1991 and was subsequently sentenced to one year in prison for illegally entering the country under the National Security Act (國家安全法).
Cheng’s case is one of thousands involving political crimes during Taiwan’s martial law period that have been redressed, according to the Ministry of Justice in an article published in a local media outlet today.
“Returning to one’s homeland is one’s right and freedom that no one should be deprived of. Coming back should not be a crime. I never thought I would be prosecuted,” Cheng said in an interview in a related article also published by the same outlet today.
Cheng, who had already served a prison sentence in the US, later applied to the ministry for redress.
As of December last year, 5,275 cases have been redressed including 2,114 administrative injustices and 3,161 judicial injustices, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Notable cases include Taiwanese democracy pioneer Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) and Cheng, exonerated in December and September last year respectively.
After the Transitional Justice Commission was dissolved in May 2022, the ministry assumed responsibility for redressing judicial and administrative injustices from the martial law period.
According to the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), cases involving political victims are reviewed by a committee and confirmed by the ministry after deliberation.
Convictions or penalties deemed unlawful are considered nullified and the political victim’s relevant criminal record is cleared.
Cheng was classified as an overseas dissident at that time, restricting his entry and exit from the country, the ministry said.
Restricting his right to return to Taiwan was aimed at consolidating authoritarian rule and violated the principles of a free and democratic constitutional order, the ministry said.
The judgement concluded that he had unlawfully entered the country without providing evidence of his entry method, violating the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) and subjecting Cheng to judicial injustice, it said.
The responsible agencies have been ordered to clear Cheng’s criminal record, it added.
Regarding transitional justice, Cheng said he hoped that every victim could be compensated and that every perpetrator should receive a penalty.
Cheng, who spent much of his time in prison painting, now runs an art studio focusing on Taiwan’s landscapes.
“I was born during Taiwan's martial law period when we couldn't go anywhere. I visited many places after returning to Taiwan and found it to be truly beautiful,” Cheng said.
While his conviction was the result of authoritarian rule, the redress of that injustice was made possible by democracy, he said.
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