Chapter 5 1980

The Boulder Island incident and the next year's grand trial are definitely a major event that will affect Taiwan's democratization process. Whether it was the shock to the people of Taiwan at the beginning, or the future development of the parties and defense lawyers, it will have a major impact. I was young back then, so I didn't feel anything. I heard many things from my elders later.There was a lot of gossip in that era.Of course, the authorities control a few media that are not free and cannot satisfy the people's desire to know, so gossip or rumors naturally spread quickly in society.Before the opening of TV channels, there were only three wireless TV stations in Taiwan:

Taiwan TV, referred to as TTV, is owned by the Taiwan Provincial Government and is the first TV station in Taiwan, so we often see some reports on farmers and fishermen. At that time, it was generally believed that TTV's reports would be a little more objective. "China Television", referred to as China Television, is owned by the Kuomintang, so a lot of it is the content of Kuomintang activities. The content was a little more "loyal to the party and patriotic" in the past. China Television, referred to as CTV, is owned by the military, so there will be a so-called "Juguang Garden" every Thursday. Soldiers in the army must watch this program every Thursday to undergo brainwashing. It was to catch up on sleep until the beautiful host appeared again.

In the 1970s, the highest-rated TV show in Taiwan, and also the highest-rated program in history, was the Hokkien puppet show "Yunzhou Great Confucian Hero Shi Yanwen".Puppetry is a kind of puppet show, which was broadcast at noon at that time.At noon, the streets were empty, and the ratings reached more than 90%.Later, because it was too violent and sensational, it is said that the authorities banned it in the name of "obstructing industrial and commercial activities". Having said that, although there were these three TV stations in Taiwan at that time, in the era of "the party governs everything", the content of the reports were all reviewed, and the content was similar.However, the three TV stations also maintain a relationship of competition and cooperation. For example, when the government celebrates a major celebration, there will be a simulcast, and each of the three TV stations will send its own anchor and host to take charge of a part.And the three programs each have their own specialties. For example, TTV is better than news. Now, the executives of many cable news stations were originally from TTV.CTV is good at drama. Taiwan's first serial drama "Jing Jing" was launched by CTV. Many mainland friends are familiar with Qiong Yao dramas, such as "Huan Zhu Ge Ge" are also broadcast by CTV.However, in the past few years, many dramas have been outsourced to the mainland, or in order to save costs, they simply bought mainland dramas to broadcast, which is considered weak.Although CTV is owned by the military, it is good at variety shows. It has always been like this from the past to now. Many famous hosts such as Zhang Xiaoyan, Hu Gua and others also made their fortunes in CTV.

Digression, let's talk about the Formosa Island incident. Before the establishment of the DPP, Taiwan did not have an opposition party in the strict sense.In addition to the Kuomintang, there are also the Youth Party and the Democratic Socialist Party in name. They will also send candidates for every election, but they cannot threaten the Kuomintang at all. In other words, these parties are only supported by the Kuomintang. We still have other parties!" in the sense of existence.Therefore, Taiwan was basically still in a situation where the Kuomintang ruled the country and the Kuomintang dominated everything.

At that time there was a word: outside the party.During the one-party rule of the Kuomintang, Taiwanese society did not have the freedom to form parties.In the early days, anti-authoritarian and liberal organizations or individuals used magazines and other publications to express and publicize their political views.In the 1970s, further connection and organization work began to be carried out through the election mechanism. One word has to be mentioned here: white terror.Do not explain the meaning of the word, please look it up yourself.The meaning of this term for Taiwan mostly refers to the elimination and persecution of dissidents or suspects by the Kuomintang since it ruled Taiwan.The people of Taiwan have been in this kind of environment for a long time, and they dare not speak out or express their opinions.On the surface, the law grants everyone the freedom of assembly and association, but the power of interpretation is completely controlled by the KMT.

Before the 1970s, there was a so-called "mobilization against chaos" system, and the "Congress" completely prevented the people of Taiwan from re-election. After 1969, only a small part of the "Congress" was re-elected after the revision of the "Temporary Provisions for the Mobilization and Anti-Rebellion Period". Quota only.At that time, the members of the "Congress" were almost all members of the "Provinces" who came to Taiwan in 1949 and represented Taiwan's "provinces".But decades have passed, and these people have slowly begun to die of old age, and finally there are vacancies as substitutes, and dissidents outside the party finally have the opportunity to enter the system to speak.But the Kuomintang is simply a player and a referee. They set the rules for how to play. How can ordinary people beat them!Therefore, the relationship between the KMT and those outside the party has become more and more tense.

The opposition movement at this time was not the same as the earlier ones. They were not loose scholars discussing politics, and these people were not local gentry without party membership, but a group of "actors" who knew how to combine political and social ideas to carry out "movements."In addition, "counterattacking the mainland" made people feel more and more unrealistic. Therefore, the official ideology and the legitimacy of the rule and the distribution of political power brought by the KMT after 1949 were constantly challenged.Therefore, Taiwan's local political elite began to become the main opposition force.

In 1979, a magazine called "Beautiful Island" was published. It was founded by a group of non-Party people from all over the country. At that time, elites gathered and there was a tendency of a political group.Such a dissenting magazine was published in the era of Yiyantang. Everyone enjoyed reading it and breathed a sigh of relief. Naturally, they liked it very much. The model of "Beautiful Island" is to set up branches everywhere, and each branch will give lectures in the local area. It is very popular with the public, but it is not seen officially. The Kaohsiung branch of "Beautiful Island" held a parade on December 10, International Human Rights Day, but it unexpectedly triggered a serious police riot. The scale of the conflict was the first in Taiwan's history.

Until now, there are still different opinions about the cause of the conflict. Many people say that the authorities sent people to act as entrusted people among the people and deliberately attacked the police, but so far, no one has dared to confirm it. In this incident, almost all the main figures who were active in the non-party camp were arrested. At that time, the opposition movement in Taiwan was severely hit.Many people said that Jiang Jingguo was shocked by this incident, so he accelerated the pace of opening up.But in any case, the result of this incident and the subsequent trial did make many politically apathetic Taiwanese begin to think about some political issues and the future of Taiwan, which became a starting point for enlightenment.

Entering the 1980s, everything seemed to start to take on a new look, and the strict system of the Kuomintang in Taiwan began to loosen slightly. Everything began with the grand trial of the Formosa incident this year. The core figures of the "Beautiful Island" magazine were wiped out. At that time, non-Party participants were all mentally prepared to go to jail, so the tragedy of this movement was quite strong.This "political group" can be said to have disintegrated.After the trial, the eight core members were all convicted of "rebellion", namely Huang Xinjie, Shi Mingde, Zhang Junhong, Yao Jiawen, Lin Yixiong, Chen Ju, Lu Xiulian, and Lin Hongxuan.A guilty verdict is to be expected, but the impact and recoil is considerable.

This trial not only aroused the concern of the people of Taiwan, but also foreign human rights groups and media.In order to show its enlightened style, the Kuomintang did not impose too many restrictions and manipulations as in the past, although this was a military court trial. Therefore, the full text of the judgment and defense can be found in major newspapers.Although the court is full of "evidence" of assaulting the police, these defenses are not only on the level of "whether there was an assault on the police", but have risen to the political level of concern and positioning for Taiwan's future.The court seems to have become a meeting place for their political opinions, and each of them takes turns talking. There is a joke about the "Beautiful Island Grand Trial" that goes like this: Lu Xiulian was charged with saying the word "hard work" in one of the charges during the Formal Island Military Judgment, which means hard work and struggle in Hokkien , but the military judges at the time did not understand Hokkien—"Fighting and fighting, what is this not a rebellion?" Because the information is so transparent, these remarks also opened a new window for the people of Taiwan, and gave a political education lesson worth thinking about.Indeed, although these remarks, such as the lifting of military martial law and the comprehensive re-election of the "Congress", were regarded as scourges at the beginning, and the proponents were also labeled as "rebels" and "ambitious elements", etc., but these demands were not heard 30 years later. It seems to be a natural right today. At the same time as the "Beautiful Island Military Trial", a bloody murder case that shocked the whole of Taiwan—the Linzhai murder case occurred.On February 28, his mother was stabbed 13 times in her own house. The 7-year-old twin daughters were stabbed once and died, while the eldest daughter was stabbed six times and was seriously injured. Go out and survived, the case shocked at home and abroad.The murderer's technique is extremely professional, stabbing with a short bayonet, and then hooking back horizontally, putting the knife to death. Because the time happened to be during the sensitive period of the grand trial, and because it happened to be February 28, it was hard not to make people associate it with political murder.Of course, even if the Kuomintang really did it, they would not admit it, so the police set it as the crime of the "international conspiracy".But at that time, many people believed that the Linzhai massacre was a bloody warning method adopted by the Kuomintang authorities to suppress the rising non-party opposition movement after the Formosa Formosa incident. It aimed to warn all Taiwanese and challenge the Kuomintang authority. The "February 28" incident will surely repeat itself in Taiwan.Of course, we now think that such an association lacks evidence and is too subjective, but under the background of that era, this reason seems to be the most reasonable explanation, and the original direction of the police investigation seems ridiculous. Later, Lin Yixiong was still in prison. The Lin family was struggling and wanted to sell the house, but no one dared to buy it until the Presbyterian Church bought it and used it as a church.Every year on February 28, in addition to commemorating the "February 28" incident in 1947, everyone will inevitably think of the Linzhai massacre.A commemorative concert is also held here every year, which is always on the news.But the Linzhai murder case became an unsolved case after all, and it has not been solved yet.Whenever this matter is mentioned, the older person always becomes very heavy.In Taiwan, regardless of political affiliation, Lin Yixiong is always respected, and he is called a "personality person" (in Hokkien, a person with lofty personality), and he always feels that Taiwan owes Lin Yixiong a lot. On the other hand, the defense lawyers in the trial of the Formosa incident are also a group of young and enthusiastic lawyers who are not afraid of the pressure of power.Although this was a foreseeable trial, after continuous efforts, they went from behind the scenes to the front of the stage. After this trial, they all joined the non-party movement and became the backbone of the subsequent opposition movement. They even became important players in the political field. , such as Chen Shui-bian, Xie Changting, Su Zhenchang, Zhang Junxiong, etc., were all defense lawyers at that time.At that time, no one thought that this defense almost changed their lives. On the Kuomintang side, the "information bureau chief" who was in charge of putting on makeup for the government at that time was James Soong. He was a rising star cultivated by the Kuomintang at that time, and he also dutifully played the role of a spokesperson.In the following decades, the hardcore elements of the two parties continued to confront each other, entangled with each other for decades, and both sides had their ups and downs in the political arena. Now Taiwan's blue and green are noisy there, but few people will deny that the Formosa Formosa incident is a major turning point in Taiwan's accelerated opening up, and it has watershed significance.Taiwan's economic development affects the awareness of participating in politics and requires the circulation of information, making political pluralism an inevitable trend.It is those people who dared to fight for it before that now Taiwan has the opportunity to make noise.