Late last week and early this week, local media had a number of stories about the 20th anniversary of the lifting of martial law in Taiwan. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lauded former dictator Chiang Ching-kuo for putting Taiwan onto the path to democracy, while Taiwanese nationalists denied Chiang’s role entirely, crediting the pressure exerted by the Taiwanese people instead.
For my part, I’m willing to grant Chiang Ching-kuo a certain amount of credit, because he COULD have resorted to some sort of Tiananmen-style crackdown, or even fought to the bloody end, like Nicolae Ceausescu. I’m not willing to go overboard and beatify the man though, because the repeal may have been intended to merely be cosmetic; apparently many martial law provisions were quietly re-enacted soon after the "official" lifting of martial law.
Be that as it may, I thought it was interesting that both Chinese and Taiwanese nationalists spoke of the repeal as though the decision process was entirely indigenous – neither group mentioned outside pressure as being at all influential on the final decision. Perhaps that’s not surprising, but I suppose it is SOME kind of common ground.
Now, I know that Michael Turton has at various times written about the pressure the American government exerted on Chiang to institute democratic reforms (links?), but I think one thing missing from the discussion (in the English language papers, at least) was the influence that the "People Power" revolution in the Philippines may have had here. You see, I honestly DON’T remember the lifting of martial law in Taiwan in 1987, but I DO recall that sometime thereabouts Ferdinand Marcos was forced to flee Manila. A quick check of Wikipedia refreshed my memory:
By 1984, [Ferdinand Marcos’] close personal ally, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, started distancing himself from the Marcos regime that he and previous American presidents had strongly supported even after Marcos declared martial law. The United States, which had provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, was crucial in buttressing Marcos’ rule over the years.[22]
Wikipedia recounts the penultimate day of the EDSA Revolution:
[On February 25, 1986 Marcos] talked to US Senator Paul Laxalt, asking for advice from the White House. Laxalt advised him to "cut and cut cleanly", to which Marcos expressed his disappointment after a short pause. In the afternoon, Marcos talked to [General] Enrile, asking for safe passage for him and his family. Finally, at 9:00 p.m., the Marcos family was transported by four American helicopters to Clark Air Base in Pampanga, before heading on to Guam, and finally to Hawaii.
While I’m not privy to the deliberations of Chiang Ching-kuo and his inner circle prior to July 15, 1987, it’s fair to say that the fall of a fellow dictator just 17 months previously and only a few hundred miles away must have weighed heavily in favor of democratizing in order to avoid a similar fate.
Yes, I’ve mentioned this. IN fact, in 1986, after Aquino came to power, the KMT was reeling in shock, fearing something similar, and WUFI, one of the pro-TI orgs in the US, put their main man, George Chang, into Taiwan to attempt a people power thing here. He was betrayed and arrested as he tried to enter. He was then imprisoned for the next several years, I worked on his case in the early 1990s. If we ever meet personally — and I’ll be at the Taiwan Beer Factory on Ba Deh Rd tonight, Sat 21st — I’ll tell you the rest of that story.
Michael
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I didn’t think it was a particularly original observation on my part, but the timing seemed so obvious and I didn’t see anyone else talking about it.
I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, but thanks for the invitation. In August I’m heading back home to see my folks, and I’ve got a LOT of things to get done before then.