Lei Chen Yin Hai-Kuang cation that Free China advocated for as “toxic ideas” to further the goals of communists. Lei Chen was Sentenced to 10 Years for Establishing the China Democratic Party Lei Chen attending Linda Gail Arrigo's wedding in 1978. Courtesy of: Linda Gail Arrigo These “suggestions” included: establishing a democratic political system, fostering a strong opposition party, effectively safeguarding freedom of speech, nationalizing the military, safeguarding judicial independence, normalizing education, and promptly convening an anti-communist national salvation conference. Although the articles were polite and full of honorifics, they reflected the reality of the martial law system, and every word seemed to imply sarcasm and criticism. The “birthday special edition” became a bestseller, drawing full-on suppression from the party, government, army, and media. They denounced the writings as “ideological smuggling, paving the way for the communists’ scheme of unification” and even set the stage for a long-term public opinion battle, widely disseminating so-called “Attack on Toxic Ideology” pamphlets, which denounced freedom of speech, nationalization of the military, and liberalization of edu- 24 Two things occurred in 1960 that ruined their relationship irrevocably: The first was Lei Chen’s opposition to Chiang Kai-shek’s re-election to another term in violation of the Constitution. The other was Lei Chen establishing a new political party. Chiang Kai-shek’s second term as president was about to expire on May 20 that year. The media, which was controlled by the KMT, government, and military, began reporting how “people of all sectors” proposed and even begged for the Constitution to be amended, fanning public opinion to make way for lifting the presidential term limit. This prompted many editorials and special articles from Free China calling for protection of the Constitution and expressing strong dissent. However, though the National Assembly gave up on amending the constitution during their assembly in March 1960, they passed the additional Article 3 of the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion, which stipulates that “during times of rebellion, the President and Vice-president may be re-elected regardless of the term limit specified by Article 47 of the Constitution”, successfully ensuring Chiang Kai-shek was re-elected to a 5th term (each presidential term lasting 6 years) until he died during his term in 1975. Failing to stop Chiang Kai-shek from being reelected against the Constitution, Lei Chen’s tried to attain his dream of democracy in a new way: forming a new political party with Tangwai representatives and officials. A total of 72 people, including Lee Wanchu, Kao Yu-shu, Wu San-lien, Kuo Yu-hsin, Kuo Kuo-chi, and Yang Chin-hu, met in Taipei on May 18 and reached a consensus. They held symposiums Fu Cheng Group photo of the staff of Free China. In the back row are founder Lei Chen (4th from the right) and lead writer Yin Hai-kuang (2nd from the right). The 2nd from the left in the front row is editor-in-chief Fu Cheng. at various locations in July and August, announcing that they would be establishing the China Democratic Party in September. Lei Chen went to these symposiums to prepare for starting the new party, where he was so well- received by Tangwai supporters that he wrote down how touched he was in his diary. However, every symposium faced interference and intimidation from the military and police, and tension remained as both sides attacking each other with pen and paper. 25