｜ the boundaries of stifled media reporting in Taiwan but also setting a record for most journal bans and suspensions. Before the lifting of martial law, many key protest movements closely tied to the DPP party history that led the direction of political development were initiated and led by Cheng Nan-jung in conjunction with Freedom Era. These movements were all high-profile challenges to political taboos, leading a trend of street protests. In the later half of the 1980s Cheng Nan-jung continued to rally mass movements. In the last 4 years of his life, initiatives like May 19 Green Action, Justice for the February 28 Incident, and New Nation Movement were all mass movements that broke taboos of the martial law, pushing more “pro-establishment” Tangwai elites to accelerate their efforts. Firstly, since March 1986, Cheng Nan-jung began a two-month-long promotional campaign on Freedom Era for the May 19 Green Action, calling for the lifting of martial law. The campaign made the rally so prominent that Tangwai officials had to participate. On May 19, surrounded by over a thousand policemen, the rally overcame scorching sun in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon until finally ending peacefully that night. The rally was covered by international media outlets like Time and Newsweek, receiving support in public opinion. Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, visited Taiwan three months after the rally and openly suggested that the government lift the political party ban and the martial law, posing strong international pressure on Chiang Ching-kuo. On the other hand, the rallying of the May 19 Green Action was seen as organized by radical activ- 58 ists in the Tangwai movement expressing dissatisfaction about how “Tangwai conservatives”, elected officials in the same movement, acted hesitant about forming a new political party. Later, Chen Shui-bian and others were successively jailed due to the magazine Neo-Formosa, and Cheng Nan-jung was also arrested and jailed. The series of events worried Fu Cheng deeply. In 1960, Fu Cheng helped Free China founder Lei Chen rally native-born Tangwai elites to form a new political party but was arrested and jailed, unfortunately. He believed that a political party had to be formed urgently. He said, “Tangwai elites fighting on their own will only be taken down separately”. Fu Cheng stressed that, “Tangwai elites want to overcome the party ban, but we often hear demands for the KMT to pass a Political Parties Act. I have always disapproved of this approach. I believe that people have the right to form political parties and that there is no need to wait for a law allowing them to do so”. Mass movements and Fu Cheng’s arguments hastened the integration of the Tangwai movement. On September 28 of the same year, Tangwai elites broke the party ban and announced the formation of the Democratic Progressive Party at The Grand Hotel Taipei. The new party faced unending threats from the authoritarian government. Tangwai forces braced themselves, making a three-tier list of substitutes in case of arrests. After a week of wary observation, Chiang Chingkuo said in an interview with the Washington Post on October 7 that the martial law and political party ban would be lifted soon. The Tangwai movement celebrated, and those paying attention to Taiwan’s fight for democracy around the world all sighed in relief. Chapter 2 ｜ Lifting of the Martial Law: Defending Absolute Freedom of Speech September 28, 1986: The Tangwai Supporters' Association held a general meeting to propose candidates at morning in The Grand Hotel Taipei. However, Chinese-born legislator Fei Hsi-ping was elected as chairman of the first Central Standing Committee through a change to the agenda, and the resolution was passed to establish a new political party. Fei Hsi-ping then announced to the media the formation of the Democratic Progressive Party. Courtesy of: Chiu Wan-hsing 59