｜ Lei Chen. Photographer: Pan Hsiao-hsia Control Yuan member Sung Ying, who campaigned for her husband Lei Chen, reading relevant documents at the Control Yuan. Photographer: Huang Yen-wen On September 1, Lei Chen issued an emergency announcement saying that he would “file a complaint for the interference those forming the party faced in recent days”, and resolutely stated that “the movement to form a new party has already become the unanimous wish of those in the movement for democracy and against communism both at home and abroad, as well as domestic grassroots trend.” Three days later, however, the Taiwan Garrison Command arrested Lei Chen on “suspicion of sedition” and sent him to be tried in a military court. Also arrested were editor-in-chief Fu Cheng, manager Ma Chih-hsiao, and former accountant Liu Tzu-ying. This arrest shocked society. People of all sectors, regardless of mainlander-islander status, pleaded Lei Chen’s case. Lei Chen’s wife Sung Ying was a member of the Control Yuan. She quickly applied to the court to bring Lei Chen to trial per Article 8 of the Constitution (regarding “legal due process” on personal freedom) and relevant provisions of the Habeas Corpus Act, but all her appeals were rejected. Yunlin County councilor Su Tong-chi made a 26 proposal in the Council calling on Chiang Kai-shek to release Lei Chen, calling him a patriotic intellectual. The proposal passed unanimously. Out of the 45 councilors at the time, 39 were in the KMT (a majority of which were Taiwanese), clearly showing how well-loved Lei Chen was by the public. But these efforts only made Chiang Kai-shek angry and wary. He personally presided over several meetings at the Office of the President to discuss Lei Chen’s sentence. In the end, he personally signed an official document on October 8 decreeing that “Lei (Chen)’s sentence shall be no fewer than 10 years”. That afternoon, the military court sentenced Lei Chen to 10 years under the charges of “harboring communists” and “spreading communist propaganda”. “Harboring communists” and “spreading communist propaganda” were common charges during the White Terror. These charges violated Article 11 of the Constitution of the Republic of China as well as Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both of which protect freedom of expression and the right of “non-expression”, or the right to remain silent. Chapter 1 After Lei Chen was sentenced to 10 years, Tao Peichuan and four other members of the Control Yuan formed the “Lei Chen Case Investigation Taskforce”, pointing out how the case was mishandled in their investigation report and passing a corrective case, but none of these efforts managed to change Chiang Kaishek’s decree. The China Democratic Party had been on the cusp of establishment. After the Lei Chen incident, Lee Wan-chu and other leaders of the Tangwai movement firstly held an assembly to elect a convener. They announced the founding of the China Democratic Party Preparatory Committee and issued a declaration of dissent with regard to the Lei Chen case, stating that they would not give up on the efforts for forming a political party. On September 25 of the same year, more than a dozen of individuals, including Lee Wan-chu, Kao Yu-shu, Hsia Tao-sheng, Wang Ti, Kuo Yu-hsin, Yeh Ping-huang, Su Tung-chi, and Huang Yu-chiao, held the first meeting of the Preparatory Committee and passed two proposals: First, they jointly elected a spokesperson and sent a letter to the Taiwan Garrison Command requesting the return of all documents and information regarding the foundation of the new party. Second, they announced that the litigation costs incurred due to the indictment of “one of the party’s spokespersons, Lei Chen” would be jointly borne by the Preparatory Committee of the party. ｜ Martial Law: Derailing From International Human Rights Trends Nonetheless, afterwards, each and every one of them were subject to crippling intimidation and suppression. Many were accused with speech crimes and brought into submission through an unbearable load of lawsuits. Foundation of the party was finally strangled and the movement eventually lost momentum. The Three Champions of Democracy Under Martial Law! Lei Chen, Fu Cheng, and Yin Hai-kuang Lei Chen’s Tangwai supporters discussed the case in their areas and lamented about his sentence. In addition to the reputation of Free China in Taiwan, the fact that Lei Chen studied constitutional law in Japan in his youth—allowing him to overcome the language barrier in Taiwan—and his close interactions with Tangwai elites are some of the biggest reasons why he was so well-respected by grassroots Taiwanese even though he was a mainlander from China. Particularly, Lei Chen’s belief in freedom, democracy, and equality won the hearts of the Taiwanese people. An editorial in the July 1958 issue of Free China reads, “There is not a single Taiwanese local in any agency of the central government. Will this convince the Taiwanese people that we have restored their place as masters of their own country?” Su Tong-chi (1923-1992) While serving as Yunlin County councilor, he made a proposal calling for President Chiang Kai-shek to release the patriotic intellectual Lei Chen, which passed unanimously. Source: Yunlin National Cultural Memory Bank; this photo is from:(CC BY-SA 3.0 TW) http://data.yunlin-memory.cool/taxonomy/term/639 27