2011 Archive- Posted to celebrate recent Taiwanese elections!
On a Saturday evening in Taipei I struck up a conversation with a Taiwanese couple sitting across from me on the long metro ride from the Danshui station. After some small talk in Chinese and introducing myself as an NGO worker in China, Mary intervened and asked, “Do you know who is sitting across from you?”
Her husband, Paul Lin, is an internationally recognized human rights activist and a forerunner for Taiwanese independence. To put Paul’s accomplishments into perspective, Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate refers to Paul affectionately as “Gemer” Big brother. When asked about his relationship with Liu Xiaobo Paul said,
“Liu sent me a letter requesting some of my books and we sent them to him twice, but of course, they never arrived. “
Mary explained that Paul worked in Hong Kong as a Professor for nearly 20 years writing political essays before they moved to the US in the 90s seeking political asylum. It was a connection with none other than nefarious Chicago School of Economics Professor Milton Friedman (note it was Paul’s anti-communist standpoint not his economic beliefs that lead to a collaboration with Friedman) that helped Paul and Mary get green cards to live in NYC.
“Paul was Milton’s connection to China and Taiwan” Mary said.
While living in NYC they met with the Dalai Lama and worked alongside Uyghur activist Rebiya Kadeer for solidarity with the Xinjiang independence movement. However, after 5 years in NYC, both Paul and Mary felt they needed to return home to Taiwan because it was in a “very dangerous situation” as the “KMT is much to close to the Chinese Communist Party”.
We bid farewell in the main station and agreed to meet a week later for tea along with their good friend Hsing Chung Wang who used to work for Amnesty International and now leads the New School For Democracy.
I met Mrs. Mary Lin, Mr. Paul Lin, and Mr. Hsing- Chung Wang a week later in the café of an upscale hotel in downtown Taipei. After ordering a juice and a bottle of Taiwanese beer (much better than mainland beer I might add) we began our chat.
Note: this is a rough transcript of a dialogue in Mandarin Chinese. Although I speak Mandarin, Mary helped with translation for complex phrases but some parts may have been lost due to the language barrier.
Me: Where were you in your 20’s? What was life in China like then? What were your “roots of resistance?”
Mr. Paul Lin: I was born in Chongqing and as a child I naturally I trusted the government and bought into their propaganda. However, when I was 17 I spent some time in Indonesia where I broadened my education. One of the first books I read was by Edgar Snow which turned me against the Communist Party. I returned to Beijing to study at Renmin University where I was fascinated with history and the KMT party and became a critic of the Communist Party.
Me: Wasn’t that then a difficult time to stand in defiance of the CCP?
Mr. Paul Lin Yes of course, but actually many students at the time sided with the KMT and formed anti-communist leagues. In fact, opposing the party was quite popular. It wasn’t until later in the 1950s when the KMT faced harsh repression, but then of course you are familiar with Mao’s “Great Leap Forward”.
Me: So what was the final deciding factor that led you to flee mainland China?
Mr. Paul Lin: Well it wasn’t one specific event that led me to leave China, quite simply I was fed up. You know what’s funny is that I left China in 1976, the year of Mao Zedong’s death. Like many other intellectuals I suffered the hardships of the Cultural Revolution and I saw China turning for the worse, so I left to Hong Kong.
Mrs. Mary Lin : Paul and I lived in Hong Kong for 20 years, we met in college and he later became a professor of History. We were members of the activist community there and enjoyed living in Hong Kong.
Me : So you lived in the US for a few years, what was your experience there? What led you to return to Taiwan?
Mr. Paul Lin: As I mentioned, I was Milton Friedman’s ticket to understanding Taiwan so he helped vouch for me for a green card when I applied for political asylum. Living in New York City was okay and I like America but I always felt different you know I don’t really speak much English. Also, New York City isn’t exactly the friendliest city so we were mainly spending time with other Chinese. But I did meet some very interesting human rights activists and enjoyed reaching out to young people at universities.
Mrs. Mary Lin: Yes but we felt guilty living in the US, as if we had turned our back on Taiwan. Taiwanese Chinese relations became strained and the US wasn’t really standing up to China to support Taiwanese independence. Moreover, I was upset with the way the immigration officials treated us, they often lied and made us wait for hours and hours. They didn’t treat anyone with respect. Moreover, the FBI would often come to our house and ask tons of questions, they believed we were spies or something. We could have had American citizenship but we turned it down, it was time to return home to Taiwan which is where we belonged.
Me: What is your outlook on the future for Human Rights in China?
Mr. Paul Lin: “What is interesting is that this year the Chinese Communist Party celebrated its 90th anniversary and I believe that it the 90’s Babies “jiuling hou” that have the power to turn things around”.
Me: Where do youth and young adults stand in the movement for human rights?
Mr. Paul Lin: Well we have hope for 90’s babies in China to see however China and Taiwan are not the same (laughter).
Me: The organization you run is called the Taiwan Anti-Communist Youth League so what is the level of youth involvement?
Mr. Paul Lin: Well to be honest there aren’t many young people involved aside from some college students. Although most of the members have gray hair like me we are “young at heart”. The name is a spin-off of the Chinese Communist Youth League, which dates back to 1920. We aim to educate young people about their culture and history and we have done so by holding conferences in colleges across Taiwan. Hsing-Chung Wang, Professor of political science at Soochow University is best to talk about this.
Me: Could you briefly explain the goals of the New School for Democracy?
Hsing-Chung : Sure. We believe that Chinese teenagers and young adults need to see that civil society isn’t just for other countries; it can be for us too. Right now we have established an exchange program between Hong Kong and Taiwan; many of the Hong Kong students are a bit more radical so it is good to have a mix of ideas.
Me: I remember watching media coverage of vigils commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Hong Kong. Why do you think the Taiwanese are not as radical?
Hsing-Chung : Well many Taiwanese are concerned about their future, Taiwan is an island after all and job competition is fierce, especially for students with advanced degrees. Many people are looking towards China as an option for work so they don’t want to compromise their futures by becoming politically active. I can’t blame them for the fear of being “black-listed” it is a harsh reality. Moreover, this generation lacks a solid cause or issue to bring them together as we saw with the 1989 democracy movement.
Me: And how does education play into this mentality? I know Taiwanese education is much more liberal that than of mainland China. Are young people asking these types of political questions?
Hsing-Chung: Well, unlike China, students have the ability to ask political questions but they often don’t. Taiwan, like China, is a test-driven education system. Students care more about scoring high in science and mathematics which will open the doors to better colleges. Many believe that pursuing questions about history or sociology isn’t going to improve their ability to get into better schools, so they believe these kinds of questions and ideas aren’t important. But it is not all black and white, young people often exercise their right to ask political questions but it is not as often as I’d hope.
Me: Often in China I hear people say that China has too many people for a democracy to work, what is your response to that?
Hsing-Chung: Look at India, sure they have their problems but they are a functioning democracy with a huge population. I think each province in China should separate into different states and have its own level of sovereignty. You may not know this but in the 1920s many Chinese provinces drafted their own constitution similar to the federalist system that the USA had.
Me: Sorry I have not yet accessed your website, but could you describe the fundamentals of education at the New School for Democracy?
Hsing-Chung: Sure there are 6 parts:
- Wang Dan – Leader of Tiananmen Square Movement 1989
- History of the Republic of Taiwan and the Democratization of Hong Kong
- Introduction to Concepts of Human Rights
- Democracy and the Press
- Civil Journalism
- Chinese Foreign Policy and History
Me: How do you promote the ideas of NSD?
Hsing-Chung: Well we have and groups we have partnered with for concerts, documentary screenings and teamed up with other NGOs for events. We’ve had a Facebook account for a year so we are gaining publicity with that.
Me: I’m writing this for an alternative news site for social activists from North America and Europe. I would like to conclude by asking each of you to sum up a message about how international activists can help the cause of Human Rights in China and Taiwanese Independence.
Mr. Paul Lin: To speak in the language of human rights and democracy one must never forget that Taiwan must have independence. Tell America to support the self-determination of Taiwan!
Mrs Mary Lin: Taiwan is the most important issue if you want to understand China.
Hsing-Chung: We have more college students from China coming to Taiwan and by studying here they see the negative cultural change that is occurring in the mainland. By exposing people to new ideas we can have a revolution through education. International activists must support Taiwan as it is a “battlefront” for ideas!