2010/5/18 by Jocelyn Yu
What kind of insistency can make a person willing to set himself on fire for his faith? He is Cheng Nan-jung, a name that should not be forgotten in Taiwan’s history. He is the symbol of Taiwan’s freedom of speech. And this year, 2010, is the 21 anniversaries since Cheng Nan-jung’s death.
From 1949 to 1987, Taiwan was governed in a state of Martial Law. People have no freedom of association and freedom of speech. The only legal party in Taiwan was Chinese Nationalist Party at that time. Cheng Nan-jung, a young man from Taipei, was not satisfied with the situation, so he founded Freedom Era Weekly in 1984 and declared the goal of this magazine is fighting for 100 percent freedom of speech. He also joined Democratic Progressive Party, which was at that time an illegal party, to show his determination to fight for Taiwan independence.
Because Cheng Nan-jung made public speeches of preaching that Taiwan is a sovereign and printed a proposal for a constitution for Taiwan on his magazine, he was charged with Sedition in 1988. After he got the warrant, he only appeared in the court once, in January 21, 1989, declaring that Chinese Nationalist Party can not arrest him, but only his dead body. Then he refused to appear in the court anymore, and instead, he prisoned himself in his magazine office for 71 days! Cheng Nan-jung, this pro-democracy activist, never walked out the office door alive again……
On April 7, 1989, when police went to Cheng Nan-jung’s office to arrest him, he took out the gasoline he prepared, and set himself and the whole building on fire. After Cheng Nan-jung’s death, the demand of true democracy arrived at a climax. On May 19, 1989, another Democratic Progressive Party worker Chan I-hua burned himself to death when participating Cheng Nan-jung’s funeral. They are both martyrs for Taiwan’s democracy history.
Cheng Nan-jung’s Memorial Hall is located in Taipei Taiwan, just the place where he burned himself. And now there is a Cheng Nan-jung Memorial Hall in Second Life too! You can see the actual room where Cheng Nan-jung committed suicide, and watch the video of his martyrdom. There is also a beautiful marble monument with a touching poem on it titled “The Monument Planted In My Heart.” Before you leave, don’t forget to get a free memorial T-shirt on the wall. And remember, whenever you come to this place, for just a while, please put away your political standpoint and hatred and bring your gratitude. Because all the freedom we own today, is not given naturally by god, but by the efforts of such people like Cheng Nan-jung.
So come visit Cheng Nan-jung’s Memorial Hall at：
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Taiwan%20Groups/209/215/45
References
鄭南榕-wiki
台灣-wiki
