Shih Ming-teh
Shih Ming-teh ( Chinese 施明德 , Pinyin Shī Míngdé , Taiwanese : Sì Bêng-tek , called Nori; born January 15, 1941 in Kaohsiung , Taiwan ) is a former Taiwanese politician and civil rights activist and is one of the most prominent political figures in Taiwan. At the time of the Kuomintang dictatorship, he was a dissident in prison for a total of 25 years. In 2006, he caused a stir when he organized a month-long mass protest against his former companion, President Chen Shui-bian , who was accused of corruption .
Early years and first incarceration
Following the incident of February 28, 1947 , at the age of six, Shih Ming-teh witnessed the execution of three youths who had been accused of rioting by the Kuomintang Army in front of the Kaohsiung train station . In his memories, Shih describes this experience as having an impact on his later life.
After starting his military service in 1959, Shih registered for the officers' school with the daring plan of one day overthrowing the Kuomintang dictatorship through a military coup in association with like-minded people .
In 1962, while serving as a soldier on Lieyu Island ( Kinmen ) , Shih was arrested on charges that he was involved in a conspiracy aimed at achieving Taiwan independence . He was arrested and tortured with more than 30 other suspects, including two of his brothers, but was not tried until 1964, almost two years later. Since the authorities suspected that he was the mastermind behind the conspiracy, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, with the removal of all civil rights.
When a revolt broke out in 1970 in Taiyuan Prison ( Taitung ), where Shih was incarcerated, Shih was charged with involvement (Shih himself still denies involvement). The authorities tightened his detention conditions and he was held in solitary confinement.
After the death of President Chiang Kai-shek in 1975, his son and successor Chiang Ching-kuo announced amnesties for political prisoners . On June 16, 1977, Shih Ming-teh was also released after 15 years in prison.
Kaohsiung Incident and Second Detention
After his release, Shih became involved in the Dangwai movement, which was in opposition to the Kuomintang dictatorship. In May 1979 he helped found the opposition magazine "Formosa" and took over the post of general manager. As a result of a pro-democracy demonstration held in Kaohsiung on Human Rights Day (December 10, 1979), the magazine came into conflict with state authorities, which led to the Kaohsiung incident and a wave of arrests directed against the opposition. Shih was initially able to evade arrest, but was eventually caught. He and seven other prominent dissidents, the "Eight of Kaohsiung", came before a military court in March / April 1980 and were sentenced to years in prison, with Shih Ming-teh being sentenced a second time to life imprisonment, the longest sentence of any defendant received. One of the defense lawyers was later President Chen Shui-bian.
During his detention, Shih went on hunger strikes several times to protest the Kuomintang dictatorship, such as in 1983 after the murder of Professor Chen Wen-cheng , suspected of being behind the activities of the secret police.
In 1985 Shih started another hunger strike demanding that martial law (which had existed since 1949) be lifted, the political murders be investigated, democratic structures established in Taiwan and the release of all those arrested after the Kaohsiung incident.
In the 1980s, Taiwan step by step emerged from the shadow of the dictatorship. Domestic and foreign political pressure on the regime grew, and in July 1987 President Chiang announced the repeal of martial law, which had existed since 1949. In connection with this, the remaining political prisoners were promised an amnesty. However, Shih refused to be released because he insisted that in addition to the release of the prisoners, all convictions related to the Kaohsiung incident should be annulled. It was only when the new President Lee Teng-hui declared all the relevant trials invalid that Shih consented to the release and left prison in May 1990.
Further political career
After his release, Shih joined the opposition party DPP ( Democratic Progressive Party ), founded in 1986 . In 1992 he led a campaign calling for the direct and free election of the President of the Republic of China.
In 1994 Shih was elected party leader of the DPP. After the defeat of the DPP candidate Peng Ming-min in Taiwan's first direct and democratic presidential election in 1996 , Shih shared responsibility for the defeat and resigned as party chairman.
In 1997 Shih was sent to prison again for violating the law during his 1992 protest movement, but he was released after 41 days.
Shih was elected to the Legislative Chamber of the Republic of China, Legislative Yuan , twice : in 1992 for Tainan County and in 1996 for a constituency in Taipei City .
Leaving the party and protest movement in 2006
In 2000, Chen Shui-bian (DPP) was the first opposition candidate to be elected president . Shih thereupon announced his resignation from the DPP, on the grounds that his dream of replacing the Kuomintang government had now come true and that he was now again the "Shih Ming-teh of Taiwan" instead of just the "Shih Ming-teh of the DPP “Want to be. Shih turned down offers to act as advisor to the new government.
In 2001 and 2004, Shih failed with two attempts to be re-elected to the Legislative Yuan as a non-party. In 2002, he ran for mayor in his hometown of Kaohsiung, but withdrew his candidacy a few days before the election.
From September 2003 Shih was visiting professor at the American George Mason University for one year .
Shih expressed dissatisfaction with the government policies of his former DPP party. In an open letter he criticized the DPP government for failing to eradicate corruption in Taiwanese society.
The gap between Shih and his former companion and party comrade, President Chen Shui-bian , widened noticeably. In 2006, Shih organized a series of mass protests entitled “ One million votes against corruption, President Chen must go ” and sent an open letter to the president, who was faced with serious allegations of corruption, to resign. Shih and his colleagues carried out actions and sit-ins around the clock in front of the Presidential Palace and Taipei Railway Station.
On November 20, 2006, Shih Ming-teh also called on Ma Ying-jeou , the Kuomintang mayor of Taipei and later president, to resign when allegations of corruption were raised against him. However, the claim came to nothing, especially since Ma was soon acquitted of the allegations.
Meanwhile, the movement against Chen Shui-bian had gradually lost momentum and voices were being raised demanding that the country calm down. The last major rally took place on November 30th, after which Shih Ming-teh withdrew to his apartment and declared that he wanted to continue his protest in "self-isolation" from now on. On April 1, 2007, Shih declared this part of the protest over.
Position towards China
From the beginning, Shih Ming-teh was of the opinion that Taiwan, as the “ Republic of China ”, was a sovereign state independent of the People's Republic of China . At the same time, he criticized China's military threat to Taiwan ( anti-secession law ) and said that he would never set foot on Chinese soil while the People's Republic was still aiming its missiles at Taiwan.
Apart from that, Shih supports the further development of relations and cooperation between China and Taiwan, but stresses that the principle of non-violence and the right of Taiwanese people to self-determination must be upheld. He also believes that relations between China and Taiwan could be modeled on the European Union in the future .
Shih repeatedly took the position that Taiwan and the Republic of China are already a sovereign state and that there is therefore no need for a "declaration of independence". He called on politicians in all directions to accept the compromise that Taiwan would be a sovereign state known as the "Republic of China".
rating
Shih Ming-teh is undoubtedly one of the most prominent political figures in Taiwan, he was and is revered by many Taiwanese as a romantic freedom fighter. In addition, he was for a long time the best-known Taiwanese dissident abroad (for example, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the Polish Nobel Prize winner Lech Wałęsa in 1984 ).
Many former party comrades and sympathizers, on the other hand, criticize him for allowing the Kuomintang to abuse him for their interests after his break with the DPP. In addition, the charge was made against him that his spectacular protest against President Chen was due to the frustration at his own increasing political insignificance and that, not least, the aim of Shih's self-portrayal.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from July 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ The "Kaohsiung Incident" of 1979
- ↑ Truth, finding the perpetrator, and recollection: The 20th anniversary of the Chen Wen-chen incident (Taiwan History Society)
- ↑ «施明德 與 魏京生 對 談 錄Shi Mingde yu Wei Jingsheng duitan lu " ", Taipei, Linking Publishing 2002, p. 120 and p. 193
- ↑ 總統 直選 台灣 法理 獨立 日 ( Memento from January 13, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), weekly “Yushan”, March 12, 2010
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of December 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Shih Ming-teh's Letter To Chen Shui-bian ( Memento from December 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Protests against Chen gain ground , September 7, 2006, BBC NEWS
- ↑ ROC's Mr. Shih Ming Teh wants to begin SELF-IMPRISONMENT , December 4, 2006
- ↑ http://www.chinareviewnews.com/crn-webapp/doc/docDetailCreate.jsp?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=100939594
- ↑ awakeningtw.com ( Memento from January 17, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.michaelturton.com/blog/2006/08/linda-arrigo-on-shih-ming-dehs-letter-urging-chen-to-resign/
Web links
- http://www.nori.org.tw/ (Shi Ming-teh's website)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Shih, Ming-teh |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sì, Bêng-tek; Nori (nickname); 施明德 (Chinese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Taiwanese politician and civil rights activist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 15, 1941 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kaohsiung , Taiwan |