｜ II. ｜ Protest: The Crucial 20 Days Overwhelming Passion and Initiative Liao I-en said that there were three reasons behind the name “100 Action Alliance”: I. Article 100 of the Criminal Code was an evil law restricting the freedoms of speech, thought, and association of the Taiwanese people. II. They wanted to carry the torch of Cheng Nanjung and pursue “100% freedom of speech”. III. The sit-in protest would mimic a military formation, with 100 people in each company, each company divided into three platoons, and each platoon divided into three squads. The organizers called for 100 professors, 100 students, 100 women, and 100 religious people to conduct a peaceful sit-in protest. Everyone agreed that the name sounded good and was easy to remember. Chen Cheng-jan also added, “It’s Double Ten Day, and 10 times 10 equals 100!” Actions to form the alliance began as soon as the meeting ended. Professor Chang Chung-tung of NTU’s Department of History saw the news of how Lee Chen-yuan led those in the medical field to visit Lee Ying-yuan, Kuo Pei-hung, and others imprisoned at the Tucheng Detention Center. He believed that Lee Chen-yuan had just the right character, reputation, academic background, and achievements to lead the alliance and suggested Chen Shih-meng pay him a visit to make the proposition. Academician Lee Chen-yuan: a Witness of the White Terror Willing to Dedicate the Rest of His Life to Democratization At that time, Lee Chen-yuan was already 76 years old. He had never been involved in nor commented on politics, let alone participate in political move- 94 Chapter 3 ments, especially ones as risky as protesting against the military parade. To everyone’s surprise, when Chen Shih-meng and Chan Chang-chuan paid Lee Chen-yuan a visit, he agreed to join unhesitatingly on the spot. Lee Chen-yuan would later say to the media, “as intellectuals, we should do our part to further the democratization of Taiwan” and “the issue of unification or independence should be openly discussed by the Taiwanese people. You can’t say that those in support of unification are definitely right, nor that advocating for independence is wrong. People are even being suppressed for expressing their opinions about the future of Taiwan.” It was crucial for Lee Chen-yuan to be the one to lead the alliance. This is because the media was still controlled by the KMT, the government, and the military. Before the lifting of martial law, the media and campuses had propagated the idea that “Tangwai movements” and “overseas pro-independence movements” were all “allies of the communist bandits”, collectively referring to the three as “three-in-one” enemies. Even though the idea of Taiwan’s independence was fundamentally incompatible with the Chinese Communist party, at the time, pro-independence activists were still deemed by the one-party regime as “communist allies” disrupting the country. This is because all three parties threatened the legality and legitimacy of the regime. After the end of the so-called period of communist rebellion, pro-independence activists became the only “rioters” demonized by the party-, government-, and military-controlled media. Therefore, the success of the 100 Action Alliance depended on the leadership by Lee Chen-yuan, a re- spected scholar, and how other major figures in the alliance were all intellectuals, with politicians doing little more than making an appearance. For the longest time, the media and schools had brainwashed the general public into believing that those who opposed the KMT were all “rioters” and that the DPP were “conspiracy theorists”. The public image of professors and university students, on the other hand, was that of “educated” and “pure and aspiring” people. Therefore, a movement launched entirely by intellectual was not only more likely to overcome smear campaigns from the aforesaid media, but also had a better chance to garner support from the medical sector, academic circle, and cultural field, thereby making it easier to gain public trust. This is also why the alliance insisted on “non-violence” as a tenet of the movement. Mass movements and social movements in the past often evolved into bloody clashes, then being smeared by the media as “street violence” and demonized as actions that disturbed social harmony. Therefore, the alliance believed that only peaceful and rational protest could emphasize the legitimacy of the movement and garner recognition and support from the majority of the general public. Three days later, on September 18, the organizational structure of the 100 Action Alliance was finalized and a meeting of founders was held at the new National Assembly office near the Legislative Yuan. Founders of the alliance included: Academician Lee Chen-yuan of Academia Sinica; Professor Chang Chung-tung of NTU’s Department of History; Professor Lin Shan-tien of NTU’s College of Law; Professor Chu Hai-yuan of NTU’s Department of Sociology; Secretary General Liao I-en of the Taiwan Association of University Professors; Chung Chao-cheng, Hakka Public Affairs Association chairman and PEN Taiwan member; Chen Yung-hsing, director of the Kuandu Nursing Home; John C. Chen, chairman of Chen Shui-bian's legislative assistant Luo Wenchia leading a demonstration rehearsal in front of the Legislative Yuan. Photographer: Chiu Wan-hsing New National Assembly office assistant Chung Chiapin leading the crowd in an exercise of love and nonviolence in front of the Legislative Yuan. Photographer: Chiu Wan-hsing 95