Kuo Yu-Hsin: Another Contributor to Taiwan's Democracy
Tuesday August 02, by Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.
Kuo Yu-Hsin (1908-1985) may not be a household name for many. As a matter of fact, few outside Taiwan would recognize this name. However, on August 1st, approximately twenty years after his death, a long overdue forum was held in Taipei to pay tribute to this early advocate of democracy and staunch supporter of Taiwan independence.
A member of Taiwan Provincial Assembly from 1949 to 1975, Kuo Yu-Hsin proved to be a tireless critic of the suppression of democracy and the violations of human rights in Taiwan by the Kuomintang (KMT). Eventually even his high profile could not protect him from assassination threats and he fled to the United States in 1977. I will go into detail on his life and contributions in a later posting. Today, I simply present his powerful statement to the United States Congress in February 1979.
When you read these words you will see how true they ring today as they did over twenty-five years ago. So appropriate are they that one must question why so few seemed to hear them and so little progress has been made. The hypocritical treatment of Taiwan by many countries of the world continues. The one positive change is that at least that Taiwan now has a president democratically elected by the people.
The timing of the words is also poignant. The United States had just switched its recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China on January 1, 1979. The Congressional hearings would result in the Taiwan Relations Act (April 1979).
Kuo’s statement predated the Kaohsiung Incident (December 1979) by nine months at which time the KMT’s repression would be finally exposed before the world.
Read these words and judge for yourself.
Statement of Kuo Yu-Hsin, President of the Overseas Alliance for Democratic Rule in Taiwan made in the Hearings before the Committee on Foreign Affairs House of Representatives, Ninety Sixth Congress, First Session, February 7 and 8, 1979.
The People of Taiwan Demand Self-determination and Independence
We the people of Taiwan have noted with great concern and deep appreciation that the 96th Congress is determined to provide some mechanism to secure a peaceful future for the people of Taiwan. We wish to comment on the issue of security for Taiwan and state our position regarding the future of the Taiwanese people.
The future of Taiwan should be determined by the people of Taiwan alone in accordance with the principle of self-determination. Given a free chance, we will reject domination by the People’s Republic of China and the continued dictatorship by the Kuomintang. Meanwhile, we will undeniably promote democratic institutions a la American, British or Swiss style, pursue a free equitable economic system, seek peace with all nations, and safeguard independence—de facto and de jure—for Taiwan, our sacred homeland.
We believe that land is for people, not vice versa. We will assert once again that Taiwan is for the Taiwanese and the future of this island must be determined by us alone. The U. S. —China Communiqué of December 15, 1978 violates its professed principle vis-à-vis the ownership of Taiwan. The Communiqué states, “Neither is prepared to negotiate on behalf of any third party.” Why, then, have both parties to this communiqué negotiated on behalf of the people of Taiwan over their own land? It is totally groundless to assert that Taiwan is “part of China.”
Since 1624 Taiwan has been under the colonial rule of western and eastern aliens—first ruled by the Dutch, followed by the Spanish, the Ming refugees, the Manchus, the Japanese, and since 1945, by the Chinese Nationalist occupation forces by the trust of the Allies under the General Order Number One of General MacArthur, then the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. The Kuomintang’s self-appointed legitimacy over Taiwan was totally denied by the Taiwanese in 1947, when the Taiwanese throughout the island rose en masse to protest the KMT’s occupation forces. Chiang Kai-shek responded by massacring twenty thousands of Taiwanese elite. Today, Taiwan has clearly and unequivocally constituted a separate political entity, unique by its own, through the long process of historical, geographical, economic, political, and cultural developments. On the other hand, the People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan and is totally foreign to the people on Taiwan.
Since 1949, the Taiwanese people have had to live with two mutually reinforcing political evils—the Kuomintang’s unending dictatorship and the PRC’s threat of forced annexation in the name of Chinese unification. In spite of this fact, we Taiwanese have not given up hope for a future, which we can control. In 1960, a coalition of liberals, including Chinese mainlanders and native Taiwanese, initiated a new party movement, which in due course was aborted by the Kuomintang. Lei Chen, a Mainlander and organizer of the movement was imprisoned under the pretext of being a Communist sympathizer. Today, a democratic movement has become firmly rooted in the genuine wish and support of the Taiwanese populace. Given open and free elections, the non-Kuomintang political opposition could garner more than 60 percent of the popular vote, according to a survey of the sentiment of the abortive election scheduled for December 23, 1978. Alarmed by the formidable popularity of the progressive forces, the KMT regime reiterated and reinforced the 30-year-old martial law and canceled the elections. But the democratic trend inside the island is unstoppable. Undismayed and unfearful of the KMT’s renewed repression, the democracy-minded political opposition successfully initiated an unprecedented western-style demonstration in Taiwan to protest the arrest of Mr. Yu Teng-fa, one of the most respected opposition leaders in Taiwan.
The best defense of the island of Taiwan must come from the people of Taiwan through a representative government and national consensus and aroused patriotism. This is currently lacking, primarily due to the popular resentment to the reactionary, repressive KMT regime. From Vietnam to Iran, there are no shortages of examples that advise against supporting reactionary, repressive regimes.
We the people of Taiwan, welcome any resolution that will most likely foster growth of progressive forces inside Taiwan.