[RARE!] "Tug Of War: The Story Of Taiwan" - PBS 1998 (VHS from broadcast)

[Music] February 19 missile fire erupts in the Taiwan Strait American forces are drawn in the crisis stopped short of actual combat teenagers are telling in the VI Taiwan's tragedy in China is too close Taiwan one of the world's most enduring hotspots where the violent conflicts of our century still reverberate parents people have been always the victim if one country won the war Taiwan was given always to the victorious country as the price pushed by great power rivalries pulled by the forces of nationalism and democracy the tug of war over Taiwan poses a continuing threat for Taiwan for China for America and for world peace funding for this program is provided by the chung-yong far foundation part of the Evergreen group the U n foam you group mercury's & Associates King Kong Life Insurance Company Limited Taiwan cement corporation ton tax group The Freeman foundation Formosa Plastics corporation USA the United States Institute of Peace the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS viewers like you [Music] taiwan's story begins with geography this is a small island off the coast of China for all their history people here have struggled to maintain an identity to mere to China to be different too far away to be the same the 90 miles of ocean between Taiwan and China or a long dangerous journey when the first Chinese came Martha our Sheba Hopkin port in BG we got it it's while inland Young was a current from a coastal province of China which count in Bao picanha courts with her one day her father and older brother and went out to sea and one with disaster what year calling you he had a human the Chinese brought with them their traditions and beliefs including the legend of Mizzou who would guide them through the hardships of their new lives I envy the girl in white the goddess of RC and tried to rescue that much energy little flight allow Kia [Music] like gaga later she attained enlightenment and became the goddess Matsu who helps fishermen in danger violent and we say sailors live in constant error why they have to take this big risk to cross not to expand the Chinese territory not to expand the Chinese sovereignty they want to escape the misery of life in China the immigrants became part of the earliest tug of war over Taiwan the Chinese emperor had claimed the island for China but it was so very far away on the edges of a vast and disunited empire but it was often forgotten [Music] [Music] the people who came to Taiwan were Chinese culturally and racially but they felt a little connection to the distant emperor and they fought off attempts to tie them closer to the mainland thank you Mike thousand Judy the Chinese thought Taiwan was very difficult to govern they said Taiwan produces a small rebellion every three years a big one every five shelf and in 1895 abruptly Taiwan's link to China was severed China lost a war with Japan and was forced to cede its island province the people of Taiwan found themselves under new rulers and wine you in Kings ha those young Japanese were very cruel it was an authoritarian system and very strict rule being in general the Japanese officials were incorruptible and effective by the middle of the Japanese occupation Taiwanese had been trained into being law-abiding people law-abiding people under the Japanese everything was policed and regulated [Music] what language people could speak what crops they could plant what jobs they could hold tender like a radio every morning we had to listen to the radio and do exercises one two three everybody exercised and we did not even lock our doors at night there was no crime [Music] they play along be Nicole most farmers didn't have their own land on a field or metal they rented land from the owners and the rents were high at that time life was very tough the hidden if we can can call if you could have that my egg once a month even once a mother you feel life was good calculator gonna come with you go on the mainland these same years were a time of turmoil the Chinese emperor was overthrown Sun yat-sen established the New Republic of China his successor John kai-shek fought to unify the country and against the rival Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong China's tumultuous history meant almost nothing to most Taiwanese I would say Pyrenees are not too concerned to interested in what's going on between nationalists and communists they know is hard but the still death in this is foreign country then in 1937 Japan invaded China the people of Taiwan felt a new connection with the mainland we sympathize with China we know our gist is a pure our crystal ball so we are angry at Japan that is very conflicting feeling in Taiwan we are forced to celebrate Japan's the victories that every time Japanese took big cities in China the students our parade then celebrate shouting slogan for Japanese victory you know this is very conflicting Japan began pushing the Taiwanese to assimilate to take Japanese names and be more Japanese two hundred thousand Taiwanese were drafted into the Japanese army forty-thousand would die for Japan the pressure reached across all levels of Taiwanese society with a definitive and even today body they didn't allow Taiwanese public performances in the Japanese era performances were very rare the Japanese just didn't allow them any I thought I saw United of a corner up I had seen them when I was young we did but then it was prohibited get until one year there has been a full thousand years of puppet history Lenna de Goya our art is tied to the fortune of our country if the country is strong the show flourishes [Music] this is [Applause] during what time I felt Taiwanese not Japanese fighting the Japanese in China was Generalissimo Chiang kai-shek head of the ruling nationalist party Jang an austere and autocratic leader ran a government that never controlled all of China and was grossly corrupt and inefficient but he was still considered one of the allies big for leaders at the 1943 Cairo conference when Jiang laid claim to Taiwan in the post-war world the others simply agreed August 1945 with the end of World War two came the end of Taiwan's 50-year separation from China gone by we were happy that Taiwan was going back to its mother country we hoped things would get better we didn't expect the situation to develop as it did it was totally unexpected to his little later as the Japanese packed up and left China and Japan signed an agreement returning Taiwan to China for a brief historic moment the Chinese and the Taiwanese were united in their vision of Taiwan as part of China what happened next would divide them again my father was the chairman of the Welcome committee of Chinese army landing our 2010 is open and coming started coming down from the ship people's what they saw is not the army they just bigger you know the with all these things with and disorganized and when they landed there's total and disciplined group all the people when he knew banana-eating that the teaching for me they wore padded clothes and carry pots and umbrellas some didn't have shoes and others wore straw sandals we call them blanket soldiers to the arriving Chinese taiwan looked like enemy territory the Taiwanese wore kimonos spoke Japanese and had fought for Japan the nation that ravaged China for more than a decade the Chinese brought with them some of the worst excesses and corruption of the nationalist regime Chiang kai-shek's governor-general in Taiwan was instructed to strip the island to support Jiang's fight against the communists the Japanese stored lots of food in Taiwan during World War two instead of distributing those supplies to the hungry Taiwanese junks governors shipped them to Shanghai and sold if he cared about Taiwan he would never have done this come a young each Ivar is you know they described the Japanese departure and the Chinese arrival as the dog leaves but the pig comes to lie disillusionment resentment and hunger the frustration mounted like steam in a tea kettle ready to blow off the lid in early 1947 the lid blew and the earlier GTO 20 on the evening of February 27th there was an old woman selling cigarettes illegally so 90 so 90 the cheese's again she was caught by a policeman and he took her cigarettes and also her cash Shinji annatto now who'll enjoy solitude ha poof ah the old woman would not let go of him so this policeman hit her on the head with a handgun he that Xin Zhong never knew yet but nightly teach the crowd became angry when the policeman saw the crowd coming he started shooting her and he shot a pedestrian dead what happened in Taipei quickly spread to the whole province so it is called the February 28th incident even including sha your local leaders came to negotiate with the government to use in ways that this was open when the governor thought this was a rebellion so we asked Jung kai-shek to send help on March 8th Jung sent troops to Taiwan after they landed in Keelung they shot all the way into the city of Taipei there they declared martial law [Music] which is you but she did Julie got that yeah my husband was a bicycle repairman on that day he heard the declaration of martial law but he still opened the shop his landlord told him to go home so that his family wouldn't worry because there was gunfire all over the place we and him soon after he got home the blanket soldiers arrived they broke into our house and robbed us and smashed all our belongings you don't they taught me anything Lana i sat with my father on the straw mat they searched everywhere in the house making a big mess a childhood yeah then they dragged my father out we kids were all scared and crying my mother was crying and begging them but it didn't help long the Makah I don't know a coward like you as a man I don't bother I know it sounds funny stuff I mean lots of you woke up they just ignored us and shot my husband two gunshots right through his heart if they did I'd be on the beach after about an hour my husband died [Music] jeong's troops killed an estimated 10,000 people members of the negotiating committees innocent bystanders many in the Taiwanese elite the killings effectively decapitated any leadership for future opposition to the Nationalists [Music] kenjiro misophonia Chimchar Heaton Luna the evidence shows the troops shot everyone man or woman old or young Jin doubt you or Sousa sure this was intentional terrorism we mention of the February 28th incident was harshly suppressed but the memory would sustain the Taiwanese resentment of main lenders for decades Blaine yes I blame the mainlanders I don't even like to talk to them I met people who said if their daughter married a mainlander then chop her up to feed the pigs in China Jang kai-shek and his government were facing more immediate problems their fight against the communists went from bad to worse and by late 1948 but tired of people fleeing the mainland turned into a flood the Shanghai children don't have an i we were through from Shanghai by boat but we didn't know we were headed for Taiwan only after we arrived and exited the ship did we realize it was Taiwan shots were not that showed us that our two million refugees poured into Taiwan swelling the island's population by 1/3 many were soldiers in Jiang's army angry humiliated missing the families they had been forced to abandon they expected to stay on Taiwan only until they could reconquer the mainland our president jeong kai-shek told us prepare in the first year counterattack in the second within five years will succeed we were all determined to fight back home with uncommon sushi not bigger than to help I wish the island had become all that was left of the Republic of China and John kai-shek would dominate it as never before he had already prepared by sending to Taiwan case after case filled with art treasures from the National Palace in Beijing and the entire gold reserves of the Chinese government in any country if the top leader loses all the territory as much as 10 million square kilometers when people eat stool if he loses all the populations six or seven hundred million people abandoning them to the wicked devil he should be tried or at least he should leave politics but he did not instead he was said to be even wiser she will tell me you come join me on October 1st 1949 in Beijing Mao Zedong proclaimed the Communist victory many believe Mouse troops would soon take Taiwan to the next week in Taipei John kai-shek's forces also put on a display of military strength and independence now there were two China's on the world stage the Republic of China on Taiwan and the People's Republic of China on the mainland each claiming to be the sole legitimate government of the country resolute in spirit and confidence and man's inherent love of freedom and justice will emerge victorious our forces will fight on history because with devastating truth that right will prevail China will remain free Zhang's troops were cornered their backs against the Pacific Ocean with no support from the great powers in the West [Applause] they were saved by something totally unexpected the start of the Korean War in a world divided into communist and anti-communist camps suddenly the survival of John kai-shek's free China seemed critical to American strategic interests [Music] the Truman administration sent the US Navy into the Taiwan Strait over the next 15 years America would also send Taiwan more than four billion dollars in aid so that Ohio who saw the mean woman can get a dollar system I was very young during the period of American aid to us American aid meant milk flour flour sex and especially the pants that were made from the flour sacks using American aid and advice john's government began to reshape taiwan with a major land reform program forcing owners to give up property in return for shares in government industries the program laid a strong foundation for economic growth and brought the Nationalists popular support [Music] I felt really happy when I got the land because I'm a farmer and the land was now my own but too many Taiwanese the main lenders felt like another occupying army like the Japanese they imposed their own interpretation of history cousin innate on Toma Chang Yao hua Yue and Akira courses emphasized education in Mandarin and in Chinese history and geography the Chinese history emphasized that since ancient times Taiwan was part of the sacred territory of China in some courageous was employed in Hua they claimed that as far back as the Three Kingdoms era China had already sent troops to Taiwan eating piping dull Tywin hyah and them so g5 a deetle gum we saw the teacher drew a map and told us that China and Taiwan were one piece of land two million years ago blood is thicker than water they said this was how history was taught Tom Charlie thought she's out the trip to school was conducted like a military drill so we lined up and marched in Devon taeho she heard it so high up idly at the doorway two people stood like military guards at an army barrack men called Julie younger and just hung it was not until I entered the military that I found this situation again they are changing without a June day DaVinci Resolve was a watching Jesus the teachers methods were exactly the same as the drilling in the military machines Union one day more young everyone was enlisted to support the government's fight back to the mainland it was a full-fledged campaign aimed at creating a society that would support Chiang kai-shek's anti-communist crusade no cos positive of the icon there were some patriotic songs then Lakota lucci my my my gawd ROG Louie the chick like fight back to the mainland this type of patriotic song was a forced feeding method of education we were young and did not even know where we were supposed to fight back to fight consequently though he wouldn't lose the war when you call Wendy care [Music] today we celebrate the 42nd national day my fellow countrymen I encourage you hurry fight back to mainland China destroy the Communists as he trained his troops Jang was also engaged in a propaganda war [Music] balloons with food and medicine and leaflets attached were floated over to the mainland when the winds were favourable [Music] before DeJong what is on page into a pine tree put on the mouth faking to achieve a funky way she wore me a punk punk punk when she found concrete by paulo so I thought it was over in Taipei the nationalists set up all the branches of China's government the increasingly elderly representatives gathered year after year holding images of their mainland provinces to prove that the government on Taiwan represented all of China they had been elected in China once in 1947 and would not be replaced Jeong insisted until all of China was free again the image of free China was a key part of Jiang's fight for world support especially for American support it paid off in 1954 when China shell Kamui and Matsu two small islands near the mainland but held by Taiwan as both sides prepared for war America even considered using nuclear weapons to stop China [Music] the price of our security indeed experience shows that those who fly in that way to buy peace and phony increase America became even more committed to John kai-shek's vision of the Nationalists as the real China the two governments signed a treaty which bound America to defend the island John kai-shek repaid the u.s. were some of the most unyielding rhetoric of the Cold War the ceasefire proposal a continuation of the Russian imperialists aggression in China with the Chinese Communists and the agents and an extension of the Korean and Indo Chinese walls John recognized the fragility of his position and organized one of the largest standing armies in the region skillfully employing America's aid his government began to build up Taiwan's industries helping the island start its remarkable rise to international economic power the Nationalist Party was reformed reducing corruption and inviting Taiwanese participation and local elections but in some essential ways Chiang kai-shek remained unchanged young Jesus even some ochre Linden way Jordan basically John kai-shek resembled an emperor of ancient China or of Japan sue the King wanna keep he seemed to think that like an emperor he had to keep aloof to sustain his authority and dignity in that happens over a thousand can change was very detached from the people and the real world for example he knew nothing about prices I've heard stories such as once his grandson wanted a pair of leather shoes John gave him five Taiwan dollars about 20 cents back then packing zamacona puddle his grandson knew this was not enough but John said that things were cheap in Taiwan and his grandson could do nothing about it [Music] people also compared junk acheté to an emperor because he seemed to be setting up a dynasty his oldest son and closest advisor Jang Jin woo was being groomed to be his successor when Jang ching-kuo was only 15 his father sent him to study at Sun yat-sen University in Moscow relations between Stalin and Zhang Kai shek soured and Jon ching-kuo was trapped in the Soviet Union he spent 12 years working in a power plant in the remote Urals and he married a Russian woman by the time he and his family were finally allowed to return to China he had become a very different person from his father no--don't him that gonna parcel pursue isn't she the one then the old president was straightforward mr. Chiang ching-kuo was just the opposite he was very reserved and not expressive when he said something it was impossible to guess from his face how he felt she hides her dad on the public face of John ching-kuo showed a man who connected with people as his father never did but Jang Jin Kuo had another side he was also the head of the nationalist huge repressive security apparatus it was used to crush any challenge to Jang kai-shek's power what governor katsu ageism when I was in primary school my mother told me that my father died in the February 28th incident she warned me not to say anything outside the house or I would be arrested you need to Johanna we obey coma I understood that there were spies everywhere they reported you if you criticize the government you would be arrested and taken from your house secretly you were just disappeared some were sent to Green Island prison some went to jail and others went to who-knows-where Giotto I was angry talking on your honor I'm sorry I didn't say anything I was afraid I would disappear yeah [ __ ] song here so many people artist and teacher - professor - disappeared and the terror is really terror I know I know when someone would knock the door anytime midnight anytime they come even without warrant Quinten come to Hyuna Sultana the policy that the Nationalists used to rule Taiwan was not a policy of murder it was a policy of deterrence kill one warn a hundred calm hoods and xana home in Tampa with this deterrence the Nationalists survived a long time under relatively peaceful circumstances it was not until the 1960s that a few individuals began to criticize Zhang's regime openly 1964 it is 15 years after this garment went into exile in Taiwan and Commission regime typically is quite well established controlled whole China so I thought we should point it out what's wrong or the forest relation it is impossible to all this government to go back to China to retake China secondly we said one China one time one are already established fact we have to accept this fact that the dis garment is going to stay as guard of Taiwan instead of China pong wingman and two colleagues were preparing a manifesto when the secret police burst into their room and arrested them I was treated well of to be fair to them and I was sentenced to eight years that is bad light you are this kind of crime is death it uses a chainsaw mayor Georgia every writer had a police headquarters in his mind under martial law do you shout in the gym Christian police really ran things and everyone had a little police headquarters inside himself you would think this phrase I wrote will they approve one of boyoung's jobs at the newspaper was translating the comics into Chinese this is Don Pardo so Dallas's Oh Popeye and his son were in exile on an island and they were campaigning for election there Fabio you saw Papa gave a speech and he used in English word fellows fellows which are Pharaoh's nuclear finally she fed gently there could be hundreds of translations for fellows but I chose one which was all my fellow countrymen Jupiter this was terrible the Bureau of Investigation arrested me saying why didn't you translate it into something else this is exactly the way our president John speaks reasonable points and defines you are making fun of him you don't fight it it's on an island and it's a father and his son just one is all John don't Kojima he shares this attacks our national leadership it deserves the death penalty no doubt the death penalty decision we after months of beatings and a closed military trial boyoung was sent to the isolated Green Island prison for undermining the affections between the people and the government Julian to assume that all you saw during my ten years in prison I had time to examine all my past experiences I felt that our entire Chinese culture of 5000 years was single what you walk i sat in zoo our culture had begun to stagnate like a river that no longer runs it had become a dead pond of water rotting losing its air producing vapours beginning to stink it was like a vat of fermenting soy sauce or like a sticky sticky jar of something more terrible than glue and dolan no way legacy halt your real modesty some people now say that there must have been unjust cases the name white terror is used but if you look at it from the viewpoint of government the situation was quite different from now in epital Mao Zedong was threatening to overrun Taiwan and to force Taiwan under communist rule in Mao Zedong's China this was the period of the great proletarian Cultural Revolution with its threatening images of rampaging destruction and calls for liberating Taiwan [Applause] when little to get food you just tall with it one long weekend tomorrow the Cultural Revolution burned down everything that was considered traditional okay you want by giving they win don't say another puppet master told me that during the Cultural Revolution several puppet troops in Gwangju were forced to pour gasoline on the puppets and burn them all unless you cure Lee to give your movie money would you know what see them the senior masters had spent all their lives with those puppets and had nothing to do with politics they ended with everything burnt up and nothing to pass on to the next generation they were so upset that they got sick and died can't I in entirety party here able to attack puppet theater and Taiwan is better than in mainland China because they had the Cultural Revolution and we had cultural rejuvenation we were giving even the party idea the Republic of China's policies were carefully calibrated on Taiwan Zhang's government maintained its repressive police state while on the world stage it promoted itself as a stronghold of freedom and the real China in the 1960s Taiwan began losing ground [Music] it's a matter of survival force in order to survive we must have countries that recognize us we cannot afford to be a country which is not recognized by anybody a number of nations including France Canada and Italy broke relations with Taipei and recognized Beijing but as long as the u.s. supported them Zhang's government could feel secure there can be no stable and enduring peace without the participation of the People's Republic of China and its 750 million people that is why I have undertaken initiatives in several areas to open the door for more normal relations between our two countries the staunch anti-communists who had supported john kai-shek for decades were appalled although the u.s. still maintain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan Nixon's speech was a signal that the u.s. was moving towards Beijing it also meant that America could no longer prevent the Communists from taking the China seat at the United Nations [Applause] in view of the frenzy and the irrational manners that have been exceeded in this hall the dedication of China has now decided not to take part to any further proceedings of this General Assembly rather than be expelled Taiwan's delegation with dream our policy was to affirm representation for Peking and that part of the policy worked out I think that the damage is more one of principle deeply held conviction that the UN would be ill served by one expelling this government and to setting the precedent for expulsion itself but I think we'll have to I think all would concede friend of or foe alike that the UN once Peking gets here will will be a more realistic forum but the price tag was pretty high the price tag of expulsion is what troubles me on behalf of the government of the People's Republic of China are hereby reiterate that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and the u.s. armed invasion and occupation of China's Taiwan and the Taiwan Straits cannot in the least alter the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China over Taiwan don't tell me that the world is in peace now with the Communists over there there will be no peace you will see there will be more trouble in future what kind of trouble do you think is well remember maybe when Chamblee well that's a story would tell the whole thing in Taiwan ago so that's what I hear Taiwan's government faced a very serious issue when they left the UN before the Nationalist Party could say Taiwan is the only legal government of China and we are the government party after Taiwan was forced out of the UN the Republic of China lost its international status the Nationalist Party had to explain this to Taiwan's 16 million people so there's no one party has more we need to get body weights in jannat after we defeat Mao the Republic of China can be reunited this is our goal and this is the only way we can protect security in Asia and maintain world peace Lancome it's uncle Otto D and you their pods on the SU jet engine increasingly the voice of the Nationalist Party was junka Shaq's son John ching-kuo since 1972 Chiang kai-shek the only President of the Republic of China that most people could remember had been ill and was rarely seen in public you think today ji juditha once as the doctor was trying to bring him out of a coma he began talking I heard him say over and over again that he wanted to fight back and save the people on the mainland tough an opportunity sir yo vengo in Tamil fight back to China and rescue our compatriots he said your j2000 boffin Paulo on April 5th 1975 Chiang kai-shek died [Music] John had been America's ally in Asia in World War two after his defeat in China he had emerged as a hero of the Cold War forced onto tai woman he had ruthlessly crushed all opposition but he also revitalized the island's economy and gave its people a stake in their future [Music] but the world had become less concerned about Jang and Taiwan President Ford plan to send his Secretary of Agriculture to the funeral the Republic of China was so insulted that he sent vice president Rockefeller instead it was a dreary epilogue to a life lived large marking the end of an era and the start of a new one what did ru indo-asian anyway Susan coming down either so you go wait the Nationalist Party was still the only ruling power Taiwan was still under martial law I knew there were many risks but I thought this was also an opportunity to push for democracy in Taiwan [ __ ] Halsey way yes sir what we don't power means the things of the ecology way a small opposition movement began to grow in Taiwan forbidden under martial law from organizing politically they called themselves the Dom why people outside the ruling party and they began running for local offices what is your it mean the one thing one don't a city academy make it happen do that new ho we knew it was risky because the Nationalists wouldn't let us form our own party but we were encouraged by the public support does he give what you want about immunity real vision we felt it gave us an advantage the way the weaker side can have advantages in a wrestling match so he's in co-leads are welcome [Music] in this new era the Taiwanese began exploring their islands unique identity like the main lenders they saw themselves as Chinese but with a local flavor that mixed in Japanese and Aboriginal influences a new literary genre started homeland literature celebrating the texture and meaning of ordinary Taiwanese life [Music] it's in champion Tom Peter a frightful din of drums and gongs suddenly rose at the temple gate catching people off-guard - no fun it will make him doubt him the commotion mounted say Dorothy ciao Newton surging when our cetera that you see it spread like the fishy smell brought each morning by the first boat rising in the sun's warm until it permeated every corner of the village I'm peein Arrington the mega taro it's an TV father firecrackers burst forth and the deafening drama study module changing the seated in her chair sat Matsu gaze down drifted up word fandom ah Matsu modular merciful goddess of the sea protect us what Judy Bernard I think Monica Bay one wouldn't owe money so I had barely seen any literature that really described the life and people of this land tinted when I first read the homeland literature it reminded me of the intimate parts of my life yeah so what quantities only submit it shared the same experiences we had and this is deeply meaningful with Chiang kai-shek gone and it's international position undermined the Nationalist Party also faced a new era they needed a new source of support some predicted that the isolated government of John ching-kuo would have to turn to Beijing instead they turned cautiously to the people of Taiwan the year what did the young team go TomTom - I mean Tony I remember that president Chiang ching-kuo was very kind to the people and absolutely sincere about it Zinta and I could saw peony Mina you'd be on Zhang eco I have a photo of me and the president's chief secretary eating pineapple and watermelon with him Suho me what sudah how you turn your bin I knew that he had diabetes and this type of sweet fruit was not good for him once I said directly to him mr. president is it alright for you to eat watermelon what's a good he said that the people meant well and he had medicine to control in Gua passive we are demons and it's here Howie he was just himself and acted very naturally Jung jingle chiang chingkuo's taiwan ization was a way of repackaging himself it was a way of reestablishing his legitimacy I mean something see the looking back Taiwan ization was the road he had to take otherwise how could the head of the secret police rise to the top she just told gene Indian trade hygiene Don Ho she thought she had to pass through a bleaching process this was the only way he could maintain his domestic legitimacy he had to move away from the black role of secret agent Basel and take on a white role towards se-young that you could hate of java so i'm the timings under rider Joseph [Music] then in January 1979 the United States completed what it began with Nixon's trip to China America withdrew recognition of the Republic of China on Taiwan and transferred its embassy to the People's Republic of China in Beijing [Music] the treaty that obliged America to defend the island was cancelled the u.s. decision to recognize mainland China and to D recognize the Republic China came as a shock to us we asked them how are they going to treat us with regard to our safety there's no safety of our people safety of our property safety of all the deposits we have there's no consideration Jang Jin Woo's government scrambled to arrange a new relationship it had to settle for security guarantees without official recognition in this time of uncertainty it began to see the opposition as increasingly dangerous in December 1979 a group of activists planned a march and Gao Xiang the major southern port city in honor of International Human Rights Day few were worried the group's lawyer lynnie Xiang wasn't even in town the holy God didn't imagine this was just the usual kind of demonstration to show her ideals she don't come quite all become cons I hate depicting yeah I didn't think it was important and initially I didn't plan to participate the network sheets [Music] when she hope in the union so we were a peaceful protest we used torches as the symbol of hope and our long struggle for democracy means we kept them constantly burning as we walked in the front of the group the Diglett union of the unit is Cathy partying [Music] woman solder loo that is over the consumer we walk for less than a hundred meters and we saw from another direction that armored anti-terrorist vehicles were spraying white paper there was a smell of gas then what your wast of the way down the Chairman Mao Rana I was in the front I saw that people were already retreating and it was getting confused Shannon woman to go from joong-dal tree I thought you thousand could run a Kia coil machine even by the time we got to go Xiang it was already a mess Ginza and police were trying to disperse the crowd [Music] the rally turned into a police riot a few days later the arrests began they in Kuwait Ichi Papa IG someone jumped over the fence and broke through the window and asked who I was I said I was lynnie Xiang and he said I was under arrest yeah Chintan at 5 a.m. they rang the doorbell and arrested me circle political Padang but but when the agents from the Investigation Bureau arrested attorney lynnie Xiang I thought it was over if they arrested innocent people like Linea Xiang I could see that they planned to eliminate all democracy advocates and activities against the Nationalist Party jingle come we don't see be shall be so hit is she's on the phone why he's a window the camera Duncan oh yeah they do p12 dakedo I kept a diary while I was in prison and I still have it Jia TV opium in it I wrote youngish and taeho taeho what are you going to cut it kill that mostly they used terror and beating both at the same time to weaken your mind in Commodore Lena Bochum to get it pal opossum they said if you don't talk we will beat you and beat you until you die we will say you committed suicide because you were guilty don't paw patio sometimes they said we will keep beating you until you confess you were a communist consent on do AGP come to the wooden gun that's what I got On February 28th I suddenly heard my name called they said that I had a friend maybe my lawyer waiting to take me home I keep them out to the commune took out quantum momma quick you know home taiichi ohno impatient that evening a friend told me that my mother had been killed and that things he come on the second day my friend told me that two of my daughters had also been killed my camp I see that once I count Digby and my oldest daughter was an emergency care in the hospital you can't judge him bitten Zimbabwe it's really beyond belief that his mother and daughters were killed while his home was surrounded and watched by intelligence agents who the Ganges capital or a body decision Larry Xiang had harshly criticized the Nationalist Party I felt that they chose to assassinate his mother and daughters and to kill them on February 28th as a lesson to the public kaltaka over phone it's Agassi you'll get I went so Vega gel [ __ ] nah nah Ciccone and donations wouldn't she was my I wondered what meaning there was in life and how I would be able to continue living in a society like this Tom Cole I'm gonna conquer you can't describe the pain I felt at that time you someone when it comes you owe totaled initials Henson de Mouton hon Tati I only found out in the newspaper about the murders of mr. Lenny Sean's mother and children are now you asked me about the actual facts of this case I have no way of answering this case happened almost 20 years ago and has still not been solved II didn't see so I have no way of knowing the actual facts susanin I'm a pawn so it's in cm time I put him to shortly after the murders the trial of the Gao Xiang activists began did the ones real the tragic deaths in the lin family were a horrendous shock to society the Nationalists had to open the trial to the public the crazy something was sheep on there and people could really see that the Nationalists would use violence to crush anyone who criticized the regime she knew she wanted simply did you eight of the activists including Lenny Shang and Qin Qiu received sentences of 12 years to life in prison another thirty three people including Wang Toa were sentenced to terms of up to six years once again the Nationalists had shut down the Taiwanese opposition Nyko Suho young Jim go Tom Tom Tom TM uncle war so yeah president chiang ching-kuo asked me how we should handle the situation so all my eco gaudiya OTE got some da I told him that both as a country and as a political party we must foster tell the same as if we were planting a tree take care of it from the beginning as a seedling and through years and years Tainan watts high only then would it be able to mature to destroy it would also be very simple three or four blows with an axe would topple it to equal sua Theodora other events began pressuring Jon Jing Wu a series of scandals at home and abroad linked high-ranking nationalist party members with corruption and implicated Jon jingo secret police in a murder in America even the government successes created problems as Taiwan had become isolated diplomatically it turned to economics to bolster its international presence [Music] it's policies produce Taiwan's dazzling economic miracle the island was hailed as one of the four mini dragons of Southeast Asia people's incomes doubled and doubled again out of the economic strength came new voices for change I do a lot of people including some elected officials began participating in democratization activities all around Taiwan we had small demonstrations almost everywhere cause it puts you apart welcome we don't issue candy under martial law this was risky yeah hundreds of local protests began to spring up 500 people marched for environmental protection in one town in Taipei demonstrators held a 30 minute vigil all of the protests were illegal under martial law each rock type Yowie he can't chomp wha do you want guy MKZ oh I what looked like something insignificant was actually a break in the martial law system we broke through the white terror and the mood that pervaded society after the Gao Xiang incident he's not a pilot huh she did it counselor it was important as a first step and not because of how many people are involved or how long the road was the protests were yet another pressure on Jang Jin woo and there began to be signs that he was considering abandoning martial law this galvanized the activists who decided the time had come finally openly to form an opposition political party whistles alleged that that father Garissa does shiney without swindle when we arrived at the Grand Hotel we forced ourselves to smile actually we felt pretty nervous in our hearts intelligence agents and plainclothes men were all over the place watching none of them knew that we were going to found a new party that day we had prepared ourselves to take any risks I got me a book a guy called we did not think about martial law although we were prepared to be arrested if our first group was arrested our second and third groups would come right after we were determined to succeed what she now president Chiang ching-kuo indicated that he too was ready for change in an interview with Katharine Graham of the Washington Post he surprised everyone by announcing that the New Democratic Progressive Party would be permitted and other restrictions would soon be lifted Nazis who did you Sheila hon those demonstrations had a direct relationship with the ending of martial law party nian Jie aha see it's routine Oh Jade oh it made the government understand that continuing martial law would have limited effects Jada Jenko Tian Jia Jia su su Qi Shang people didn't support it and didn't fear by the time John jingo lifted the restrictions in July 1987 martial law had been in place for almost forty years since the arrival of the Nationalists in 1949 you pop again you yaha - yummy truth on January 1st 1988 he also agreed to cancel the limitation on new political parties and on newspapers these measures were based on his belief in democracy he said yesterday Todd shows up g8 India had good attention unfortunately he passed away on January 13th how do you choose votes I believe that you would have announced more democratic reforms in the following year the new leader was leading way Lee was an agronomist selected by Jang Jin goo as vice president only four years before for the first time in its history Taiwan was headed by a Taiwanese didn't we don't engage in such in Zhang Hao and in the dimecaco just leading ways Presidency made the Taiwanese people dance for joy Taiwan finally had a president whose name wasn't Xiang before this no time when he's ever thought he couldn't hold the whole after Li dong we took office people started saying anyone can be President inaudible as Li dong way came into office the pace of Democratic Change in Taiwan accelerated some of the most emotional moments came with the lifting of restrictions on travel to China for the first time in 40 years main lenders who had crossed the Taiwan Strait with Chiang kai-shek could return to visit their families and villages what would you throw young Cheerios Shana the first two times I went back home I brought a lot of money and they treated me well sorry they're not thrown but I'm not gonna afterward I did not bring much money and they didn't treat me as nicely it was lonely other people raised my children and we were not close you go to meet him often change would you uh you could you know maybe Genoa when my sister saw me she called me you counter-revolutionary my own daughters didn't want to deal with me you mean what do you want you heard or not but after a couple of days they called me daddy and treated me well after all blood is thicker than water when we walked they would hold my hand [Music] thousands of people were reunited across miles and decades [Music] but many of the main lenders living in Taiwan had to face the sad realization that they had become too different to return to the China they'd missed for so long in Taiwan Democratic movements began to sweep the island there were student sit-ins railroad strikes farmers protests and other confrontations [Music] [Music] the activism pushed into the open the questions no one had dared raise for so long was Taiwan still a province of China or had it become a separate nation did Taiwan still need a government that was set up to rule the mainland the same elderly representatives elected 40 years before in China still ruled Taiwan's government now the opposition demanded that they resign there was nothing we could do we could only school these people evil thieves somewhat and on the verge added on this comes from a traditional Confucian book which says old yet not dead such as the thief they were old not dead and up to no good so we call them thieves that's underway now say this is unconstitutional the Democratic Progressive Party claims that it supports the Constitution tell me where in the Constitution does it say that we have that we have to retire [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] finally frustration turned to violence [Applause] [Music] [Applause] - babe they rushed to the podium broke the microphone and threw things I must say I'm worried Elizabeth eh you know we had no choice the Nationalists weren't elected and didn't represent our people we had to show how irrational this was so he shot so they sent you under this pressure the Nationalist Party made a startling change in a major policy it no longer claimed to be the only legitimate government of China but rather to be one of two equal governments each representing part of China's territory we are steer for reunification but now there is big gap between the standard of freedom and democratization between n as well as the prosperity between the two sides we hope with the coming of time this gap could be narrowed not surprisingly Beijing saw Taipei's new position as a move towards separatism and reacted strongly resembled and have advocated Taiwan independence they want to separate Taiwan from its motherland all the Chinese people strongly oppose this the Chinese government won't let this happen to pull the Taiwanese back from this separatism China began to dangle the lure of its vast markets taiwan's businesses were encouraged to invest billions in the mainland's modernization Taiwan's government realized that economics now hook them more closely to China than ever before Jamie - highway our duly foodie Chile totally Chapin if we were to go independent isolate ourselves and cut off the relationship with mainland China our economic development would be affected when Tompa though so with the 21 million people who live on this island it would be very difficult face face face equipment the reality is Paran has been independent since 49 from China they are not worried by China in that sense independent why don't accept this reality in 1996 when Taiwan held its presidential election independence became a key part of the campaign debate so my election would show that we are an independent sovereign nation I would not need to declare independence because the whole world knows where I stand [Applause] Democracy Now became dangerous as China decided the open talk of independence could not be ignored it began moving 150,000 troops to a coastal area near Taiwan redeploying aircraft and amphibious Landers to be sure taiwan's voters understood the message Beijing announced it would begin a series of missile tests just off Taiwan's Shores the 50-year stalemate in the Taiwan Strait seemed close to the breaking point [Music] leading way is not Pro Taiwan independence and not a communist I am the most loyal supporter and booster of the Republic of China as had happened so often in Taiwan's past an outside power tipped the balance although the US and Taiwan no longer had a mutual defense treaty or even diplomatic relations America sent two carrier groups to prevent further escalation the crisis cooled down although Taiwan and China were no closer almighty power when she turns over the nitin Taiwan is China's territory it is not a u.s. protecting the u.s. is trampling on the Chinese people's feelings for their nation u.s. attempts at preventing reunification are doomed to failure these are just a soothing or shred my country is very clear in that we do not want to be provocative we do not want to cause any trouble for anybody else and then there is the other side the mainland of China I hope and pray they will see their road clear [Applause] when the votes were counted president lee donghae had won reelection by a large margin the taiwanese seemed to be voting for what they already had a kind of independence that would not provoke China further [Applause] [Music] so the elections left the key question murky is Taiwan part of China or not the ambiguity permeates everything in Taiwan today even religious life at the annual celebration of the goddess Maat Sue's birthday people argued over whether Matsu should be venerated as a link to China or whether the many miracles she had performed for her Taiwanese followers made her truly Taiwanese was chemical sick I hope you Jindo FC Lobel peace and Asian prosperity mean ignoring our twenty million people's desires and ignoring Taiwan's history only that all Taiwanese could not care less about this kind of peace after Ohanian it's Connie Connie [Music] ultimately Taiwan's fate may once again be controlled by other nations if China invades will the u.s. sent troops to die in defense of Taiwan [Music] will the next conflict force a choice between Taiwan's Democratic aspirations and the larger question of peace in Asia so easy to dictate that is frontier hoping topic it is a choice of values peace what exactly is peace he can parinama if we have to sacrifice the hopes and freedom of the Taiwanese so the China will not declare war I don't see any value to this kind of peace [Music] for the Taiwanese who have worked so hard for democracy and prosperity the future is as uncertain as ever like Matsu sailors they live in peril knowing that the next crisis will come but unable to predict what it will mean to their long contested island [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: taiwanjohn

Views: 233,488

Rating: 4.7534428 out of 5

Keywords: taiwan, history, cross-strait, 228 incident, chiang kai-shek, kmt, kuomintang, democracy, independence, unification, china

Id: LbPPedw_KhY

Length: 85min 59sec (5159 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 27 2017