Viewing the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party Through the Li Ming-che Case

As Xi Jinping played a solo act at the 19th National Congress of the CCP, a modern dance production inspired by the deeds of Cheng Nan-jung was in rehearsal at the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Research Institute. At the very moment when the CCP deliberately delayed the verdict in the Lee Ming-che case, reaffirming the significance of Cheng Nan-jung's pursuit of 100% freedom of speech holds immense value for the people of Taiwan in responding to the shifting landscape following the CCP's 19th National Congress.

In 1988, Cheng Nan-jung published the "Draft Constitution of the Republic of Taiwan" in his magazine and was investigated for the crime of sedition. Maintaining that this fell under freedom of speech, he exercised his right of resistance and died a martyr through self-immolation. Under the laws of that era, his advocacy for Taiwan's independence constituted a crime. Today, such unjust laws have long been abolished, and freedom of speech has become the pride of Taiwan's legal civilization.

In 2017, China's first Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, passed away while serving a prison sentence. The grounds for his conviction were the publication of "Charter 08." Concurrently, Lee Ming-che was tried on the very same charges as Liu Xiaobo, with the sole justification being his dissemination of democratic and liberal thoughts via the internet. Those who criticize Liu Xiaobo and Lee Ming-che ought to consider whether they are acting just like those who criticized Cheng Nan-jung back then—merely whitewashing those in power while disregarding universal fundamental human rights.

Xi Jinping announced at the 19th National Congress the establishment of a "Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Governing the Country according to Law," serving as its head himself. In 1989, commenting on Taiwan's judiciary under the control of the Kuomintang, Cheng Nan-jung stated: "A party-ized judiciary can never be independent." Twenty-eight years later, this remark remains the finest response to Xi Jinping's rule of law. During Cheng Nan-jung's era, the greatest oppressor of the Taiwanese people was the Kuomintang; in the present era, it is the Communist Party.

In his report at the 19th National Congress, Xi Jinping proclaimed that "Taiwan compatriots and mainland compatriots enjoy equal treatment," and he made good on this in the Lee Ming-che case: whether Taiwanese or mainlanders discuss democracy and freedom online, both will be tried for the crime of subversion of state power. China has leveraged the Lee Ming-che case to extend its speech control into Taiwan, and not a few in Taiwan echo its stance, agitating for Taiwanese people not to discuss speech prohibited by Chinese laws on the internet, lest they meet the same fate as Lee Ming-che.

The Chinese Communist Party rushed to publicly try Lee Ming-che before its 19th National Congress, yet has delayed rendering a verdict, precisely to silence the Taiwanese people. The Lee Ming-che case clearly demonstrates that following the 19th National Congress of the CCP, Taiwan's values of freedom of speech and the democratic rule of law will face even more severe challenges.

Even in the darkest of times, the Taiwanese people have never abandoned their pursuit of freedom and democracy. From Cheng Nan-jung to Lee Ming-che, generations of Taiwanese have stepped into the breach as one falls. Following the conclusion of the CCP's 19th National Congress, on November 2, the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Festival will restage a classic dance production interpreting Cheng Nan-jung's ideals, encouraging the people of Taiwan not to forget the courage to fight for democracy and freedom from "that era." Facing the challenge of the Chinese Communist Party, the people of Taiwan must dance, courageously dancing out Taiwan's own future!

※ This article was published in the Apple Daily on 2017.10.25