｜ Chapter 3 ｜ Protest: The Crucial 20 Days III. Confrontation and Negotiations promise to cease the protest. In the history of opposition movements in Taiwan, this was the first to directly challenge the president as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. It was also the first to emphasize “non-violence” as one of its core tenets. The alliance decreed that: All participants must first sign a “non-violence” letter of undertaking, agreeing to abide by the organizers’ disciplinary requirements. Participants must also be organized and undergo training. This was not a movement that the general public could join at will. Veteran social activist Chien Hsi-chieh explained that when it comes to non-violent resistance, a very important concept to have is that the police are simply doing their jobs. They are neither the main subject of the confrontation nor the target of the movement. Our goal is to change the system, not direct hate at people. Therefore, if anyone insults or throws stones at the police, the group’s disciplinary unit must immediately put a stop to it. The more the crowd resists and fights back against the police when they try to disperse, beat, and commit violence towards protesters, the more legitimate the police brutality seems. It might even make the police enjoy such violent actions. If the crowd does not resist and remains silent, even if the police beats 5 or 6 people, they won’t be able to keep going with the 7th or 8th target. Therefore, instead of fighting violence with vio- lence, the crowd must fight back with willpower, so that the police lose all legitimate reasons to use violence. Non-violence is actually the strongest and most powerful way to fight back against violence. A lot of people fail to understand this, explained Chien Hsi-chieh, so they don’t think that non-violence can work in Taiwan. As it turned out, it was the right approach to take. When the 100 Action Alliance was first established, the authoritarian regime responded rather calmly, believing it to be no more than a rebellion of “bluffing” academics. But then, the intelligence unit saw how members of the alliance were conducting non-violent rehearsals on site. Members were divided into small groups, sitting together with linked arms to form a human chain. Though they are not large in numbers, with just over 400 people, their energy was astounding, an impressive sight to behold. The alliance was not only quick and efficient but also determined, disciplined, and orderly, unlike any other mass movement before it. They were beyond the police’s expectation and control. The 100 Action Alliance was serious! Shocked, the authoritarian regime began to panic. They began to carefully evaluate possible ways the coalition could interfere with the military parade and relevant countermeasures that could be taken. In the end, the authoritarian regime was forced to negotiate. Time is of the essence. The 100 Action Alliance began mobilizing and taking action as soon as it was founded on September 21, 1991. On September 23, Lee Chen-yuan, Chen Shih-meng, Liao I-en, and Lin Ferng-Ching headed to the Legislative Yuan to meet with DPP legislators. Since both sides shared the same ideologies and goals, DPP Legislative Caucus Secretary Peng Paihsien and Legislator Chen Shui-bian both stated that the DPP supported the 100 Action Alliance’s cause and would push motions to repeal Article 100 of the Criminal Code in the Legislative Yuan. In fact, when the Legislative Yuan opened session in February 1990 of the previous year, the first politi- cal action taken by the newly elected DPP legislators was to protest Huang Hua’s arrest and speak out for him. In April, Chen Shui-bian even led the DPP caucus to sign a petition to abolish the Betrayers Punishment Act and Article 100 of the Criminal Code. This was the first proposal targeting the two draconian laws in the Legislative Yuan. Unfortunately, the proposal was sidelined by the Legislative Yuan with no results. On September 24, when the Legislative Yuan opened session, Lee Chen-yuan and Chen Shih-meng led members of the coalition and family members of the victims of Article 100 of the Criminal Code to petition the Legislative Yuan early in the morning. September 24, 1991: The 100 Action Alliance went to petition the Legislative Yuan. Photographer: Hsu Po-hsin 98 99