3140 Edition
Headline News
April 30-May 6, 2012

Reported by Sam Lee

Translated by Tsai Sheng-hsin

Professor Peng Ming-min was invited to speak on the topic of the “Future of Taiwan” at Chang Jung Christian University on April 24th. In his speech, Peng pointed out that the party assets of the Kuomingtang (KMT) are tremendous. In addition to possessing the control of resources such as the media and the legal system, the KMT also has the support of the Chinese communist government and countless advantages in politics. As a result, though Taiwan has a democratic system, the KMT can still exert great influence on elections. Therefore, Peng Ming-min stated that Taiwan cannot yet be called a democratic country.

As for Taiwan’s destiny, Peng claimed that a bright future for Taiwan would not be possible without countless reforms and changes in view of these circumstances he described. Therefore, he had mixed feelings when he was preparing for his speech that focused on the future of Taiwan.
Peng went on to explain that Taiwanese have never really been in control of their own country. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Taiwanese were happily waiting to be embraced by their mother country again. Unfortunately, this happy dream was totally shattered 2 years after the KMT landed in Taiwan. What’s worse, the outbreak of the 228 Massacre led to a 38-year period of martial law beginning from 1949. Under this reign of terror and tension, more and more people began to recognize Taiwan as a distinct entity and the idea of an “independent Taiwan” began to grow.
However, all of these ideas clashed with KMT’s “one China policy” and “eventual reunification policy”. But Peng underscored that there are actually many differences between China and Taiwan, including self-identity, history, culture, and more. All of these differences have resulted in tensions and conflicts in Taiwanese society.
Peng Ming-min used his life’s journey as an example for understanding the awakening of a uniquely Taiwanese identity and the birth of a vision of an independent Taiwan. In 1964, Peng and two of his students at National Taiwan University, Hsieh Tsong-min and Wei Ting-chao, created A Declaration of Formosa Self-salvation, which emphasized the idea of “one China, one Taiwan”. However, because of this declaration, Peng Ming-min was arrested and sentenced to 8 years of house arrest. In 1970, with the help from people such as Rev. Milo Thornberry, Peng escaped from Taiwan.

During his years in exile, Peng’s biggest encouragement was the release of 3 declarations from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. The 3 declarations are the Statement on Our National Fate, Our Appeal, and a Human Rights Declaration. In these 3 declarations, the PCT urged Taiwan to be a new and independent country and the future of Taiwan was clearly laid out. In 1992, Peng finally returned to Taiwan and soon he was nominated by the Democratic Progressive Party to run in Taiwan’s first presidential election in 1996.
From Peng’s viewpoint, more and more people identified themselves with Taiwan during the presidencies of Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian. However, the KMT’s present policy towards China will result in a more complicated situation than the martial law period. Peng also warned that China is a political black hole; Taiwan should stay as far from it as possible.

To monitor elections held this past January, Peng Ming-min established the “International Committee for Fair Election in Taiwan (ICFET)”. The committee invited many people from other countries to observe the elections. However, after the elections, many foreign observers commented that Taiwan had a “mostly free but partly unfair election”. These observers saw that, in order to win this year’s elections, the KMT had used its advantages in things like assets and media. Therefore, the result was already unfair and biased even before Election Day.

For this reason, Peng thinks that Taiwan still has a long way to go before achieving real democracy. Peng also encouraged young people to learn about the history of Taiwan because only by understanding the past and the present can we strive toward a better future for Taiwan.

In response to Peng Ming-min’s dissatisfaction with the Ma administration and his concern for Taiwan’s future, PCT General Assembly Moderator Pusin Tali also expressed a similar viewpoint. He said that before the presidential election, Ma had used the slogan “Go! Go Taiwan!” to create the image of being a pro-Taiwan president and a lover of Taiwan. However, the idea of “One Country, Two Areas” was brought up by Ma’s administration soon after the election. By doing so, the image of Taiwan was downgraded to an area, and its sovereignty and status was severely undermined.

Furthermore, in a recent meeting at the Legislative Yuan, Wang Jin-pyng, the President of the Legislative Yuan, ignored all of these protests and still gave his vote to allow the import of American beef products. Wang’s action showed that President Ma and the KMT are not standing on the same side with the Taiwanese people. Therefore, the PCT should be more active in speaking out for Taiwanese as they have always done. In related news, the PCT also plans to participate in the protest activities scheduled for May 20th, the day Ma starts his second term as the President of the R.O.C.