How it all got started (Part I)

Since deciding to take a year off or so to focus exclusively on working on Su Beng's biography, I often find myself explaining who Su Beng is and how I ended up working on this project. The answer is not really a simple one. So first, let me start with how I first heard of Su Beng. It happened nearly five years ago when I read this article written by Su Beng; it had been translated into English and appeared in the Taipei Times newspaper.

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What is the legal basis for human rights?

The UN Declaration of Human Rights is the backbone of many constitutions but still enjoys scant respect under the world's authoritarian regimes

By Su Beng

Friday, Dec 12, 2003, Page 9



The idea of human rights did not exist in ancient societies based on slavery and feudal societies in the Middle Ages, when people were not treated as human beings.

This idea only started to take shape when the feudal system began to collapse, the existence of "humanity" was discovered during the Renaissance, and capitalism began to develop.

Only after the British philosopher of liberalism John Locke and the French philosopher of naturalism Jean-Jacques Rousseau theorized the rights of freedom and equality in the 17th century were human beings deemed entitled to "human rights" as soon as they are born.

After the human rights declaration in the US Declaration of Independence was published in 1776 and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was made public in 1789 during the French Revolution, the idea of human rights started to develop extensively across Europe.

Since then, citizens' rights to property, and freedom of speech and publication have been institutionalized and popularized. They were also recorded in the constitutions of democratic nations.

'Real freedom,democracy and equality are still unseen in colonial societies and authoritarian countries because what they advocate is fake.'

By the end of World War II, member states of the UN believed that basic human rights were an important factor in maintaining world peace and international order. Therefore, on Dec. 10, 1948, the UN's General Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and designated the day as International Human Rights Day.

The concept and systems of freedom and human rights finally secured a stable basis in the constitutions of various countries.

The preamble of the declaration states:

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

"Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind.

"Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom..."

In addition to general concepts about freedom of speech, assembly and residence, the declaration's 30 articles also include some important human rights clauses:

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."

"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."

"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."

"No one shall be held in slavery or servitude."

"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. "

"All are equal before the law."

But real freedom, democracy and equality are still unseen in colonial societies and authoritarian countries because what they advocate is fake -- freedom, democracy and equality in name only.

Su Beng (史明) is a Taiwan independence activist and founder of the Su Beng Educational Foundation.

Translated by Jackie Lin

April 3rd Deadline

It's done! I just finished writing a preliminary draft of the biography which encompasses research from interviews that I've done with Su Beng over the span of three years. What I have now is still far from what I consider publishable since there's still a lot of work and research to be done, but it is quite rewarding to finally have some sort of a product.

I've been holed up for the last three weeks, working to get the draft into a readable format. And it's been quite a marathon to say the least. I've never liked deadlines, but deadlines are a good thing, so I've been told.

A few weeks ago, I was forced to take a long, hard look at how I was going to utilize my time here in the most efficient way in order to get what I need done. So I made a plan to arrange weekly interviews with Su Beng during the month of April- the first of which was April 3rd. At our last meeting in March I gave him a third of what I've written and promised to give him the remainder by April 3rd. I wanted to give him a copy of the draft so that he can give me feedback on it. Having the draft also helps me to figure out what details I need and what periods of his life we still need to discuss in order to round out the biography.

The "ultimate" deadline, i.e. the date I will be leaving Taiwan to return to New York is the end of May. In the meantime I will do what I can to continue my research and to collect other documents needed.

I've compiled loads of questions for Su Beng at our next meeting. And I'm going to talk to him about how we can continue communicating and collaborating on the biography when I'm back in New York. Su Beng's assistant had mentioned using Skype. Yes, Su Beng actually has a Skype ID!

Su Beng and Taiwan's 2008 pre-election atmosphere

Su Beng has been extremely busy since he returned to Taipei from Tokyo on February 25th. He was there to look in on his noodle shop, the “New Gourmet” (新珍味) restaurant which is located in Ikebukuro, Japan. A few days ago I met with him to continue work on the biography and to talk about the atmosphere in Taiwan, prior to the upcoming presidential elections.

With Taiwan’s presidential elections (on March 22) drawing near, numerous rallies have been organized for the presidential candidates, and Su Beng has been doing his part by attending rallies, talking to voters, and encouraging the undecided to vote.

The “Walk Against the Wind” was one such movement which supported Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷). It was initiated by 12 young people, including former National Youth Commission chairwoman Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) on February 5th. The walk started in Oluanpi (鵝鸞鼻), the southernmost tip of the country, and finished on February 28th in Taipei.

If you'd like to know more about the “Walk Against the Wind”, click here.

Shortly after his return, on February 26th, Su Beng joined a segment of the “Walk Against the Wind” which was organized by the Taiwanese Association of University Professors (TAUP). The TAUP had set off from Tai Dong (which is on the east coast of Taiwan) and walked eastward.


Su Beng walked with the Taiwanese Association of University Professors in the "Walk Against the Wind".


And mobilized his Taiwan Independence Action motorcade to join them


One of the Taiwan Independence Action motorcade "propaganda trucks" with a poster of Su Beng's latest booklet Taiwan Should Be Independent.


A shot of "Walk Against the Wind" participants



He handed out copies of his booklet, Taiwan Should be Independent.




Here Su Beng sits on one of his “propaganda trucks” as he shouts to participants of the “Walk Against the Wind”: “There’s so many of you but you are not loud enough! Long live Taiwan Independence!”

I talked to Su Beng about the pre-election atmosphere, his views on the two presidential candidates and people’s attitudes towards the Taiwan independence issue.

The frustrating thing is that there have been many accounts floating around about the Chinese Nationalist Party’s aka Kuomintang’s (KMT) vote buying schemes and bribes.

According to Su Beng, the KMT has increased their vote buying tenfold and changed their vote buying strategies. Previously they’d pay a person NT$300-500 to vote for their candidate, but when this didn’t bring them the results they expected in the past two elections, they decided to change their strategy. Now they are using even more devious tactics by paying each person around NT$3000-5000, but this time around, people are only paid one-third upfront and are promised the remaining two-thirds of the payment only after the KMT presidential candidate, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has been successfully elected.

This account has been floating around from several sources, not just from Su Beng. People have called in to political talk shows reporting such incidents, but unfortunately, as is so often the case in these situations, no one has been able to substantiate it as of yet.

On the Taiwanese people’s attitudes towards independence for Taiwan, Su Beng believes:

The independence of Taiwan is not a matter just to be decided solely by its people; there are some other outside forces that will impact it. 400 years ago many of our ancestors came from China; they had fled the oppressive Ching dynasty to seek a better life, and freedom, but the KMT didn’t teach us this history.

There has been a worldwide trend, wherein most colonized territories became independent after World War II, except for Taiwan. Many small countries and islands that are less developed and have lower standards of living than Taiwan have become independent. So, history is on our side, but Taiwan’s current political situation is not favorable.

Taiwanese people do not take action or heed other’s advice until things become really bad or serious. It’s as if things are fermenting, then after having been suppressed for so long, when things have reached a boiling point, then the Taiwanese will be galvanized into taking action.

The Taiwanese people want independence, it is a much more popularly accepted idea now, but still, many Taiwanese people can be bought. They don’t have any principles; they prefer the guarantee of having money.

Regarding the presidential candidates, the party platforms and what their election would mean for Taiwan, Su Beng had this to say:

If Ma Ying-jeou becomes president, then Taiwan will slowly be infiltrated by China. The KMT’s view is that Taiwan is a part of China; their goal is eventual unification of Taiwan and China. They are very firm and strong in these beliefs; these are among this party’s principles.

The DPP’s stance on Taiwan independence is not so firmly rooted. It began as an emotional reaction to the authoritarian rule of the KMT. The DPP lacks conviction, strategy and a rational approach in the fight for Taiwan independence.

If Frank Hsieh is elected, it will be an extension of President Chen’s policies, the DPP doesn’t have many firm policies, they have been just trying to fight off the KMT. The greens will feel at ease if Hsieh is elected, and take things calmly day by day. But if Ma is elected, the greens will feel more uncertain about the future, agitated and concerned. This may lead to aggression. Perhaps some oppositional, resisting forces will be organized, but the KMT dominated government will suppress people, and democracy and the path to independence will be impeded.

How does Su Beng think the clashes in Tibet will affect the Taiwanese?

What’s happening in Tibet may stimulate some thought amongst the Taiwanese, but it won’t have as much impact as it does on the people in the surrounding areas of Tibet. Tibet has a lower literacy rate and standard of living; the Tibetans are willing to lay down their lives to fight for their independence, but the Taiwanese are unable and unwilling to sacrifice themselves for the independence of Taiwan.

And finally, Su Beng commented on the Taipei Taxi Driver Association’s support of Ma Ying-jeou:

Well, democracy is a double-edged sword; it can be both good and bad. The Taipei Taxi Driver Association’s taxi drivers elect a president to represent them, but this also gives him a lot of power.

The rumor is that the KMT bribed the president of the Taipei Taxi Driver Association by giving him between NT$5 million and NT$ 20 million to distribute amongst taxi drivers in order to buy their votes. There were about 1000-1500 taxi drivers at the March 10th rally which was organized to support Ma Ying-jeou, but it’s unclear how many of these taxi drivers will actually vote for him.

On March 12th over 2000 taxi drivers participated in a rally to support DPP presidential candidate, Frank Hsieh. They wanted to borrow my “propaganda trucks” and megaphones, but unfortunately my megaphones were broken, so we couldn’t go, but many of the main organizers are amongst my supporters.

There are about 5000 taxi drivers affiliated with the Taipei Taxi Driver Association. Only about 1500 of 5000 taxi drivers were at the rally for Ma Ying-jeou.

*Special Thanks to Su Beng's assistant, Bin Hong (敏紅) who provided me with the photos and video footage included in this post

Greens turning blue

Su Beng's support base in his fight for Taiwan independence has been amongst the working classes, especially taxi drivers. Since his return to Taiwan from Japan in 1993, he has worked tirelessly to educate them about Taiwan's history, to increase political awareness and to instill in them a strong sense of Taiwanese identity. He has a force of them called the "Taiwan Independence Action Motorcade"(獨立台灣會). The motorcade has made rounds in Taipei every Saturday and Sunday afternoon for more than ten years, delivering messages over a megaphone- that the Taiwanese need to stand up for Taiwan, to build their own nation, and shake off the shackles of colonialism. In recent years Su Beng has also mobilized his taxi driver base to protest several high level Kuomintang (KMT) officials' meetings with Communist Chinese officials.

Those leaning towards self-determination or independence for Taiwan (as Su Beng and his supporters), and traditionally supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party have been dubbed the “greens” or more collectively, the “pan-greens.”

The “blues” or “pan-blues” are those favoring the opening up of Taiwan to China- in the form of recognizing Chinese educational credentials, greater communication, transportation links and investment opportunities. This is the platform of the Nationalist Chinese Party aka Kuomintang.

Now that we are in the last stretch before Taiwan's presidential election on March 22, it's down to a contest between the green and blue. The run up to the presidential election is always an intense period of time in which the media loves to throw in speculation over which side (green or blue) is gaining momentum and support amongst the public.

So the Taipei Taxi Drivers' Association's announcement that they will officially support the blue presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou on Saturday, March 8th was one such story that was recently circulated in the media. In addition to its announcement, the Taipei Taxi Driver's Association organized a rally supporting Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday, March 10th. About a thousand or so taxi drivers turned out for the rally. When asked by television reporters who they’d vote for, some taxi drivers said that they didn’t know whether or not they’d actually vote for Ma.

Why is this such a big deal?

Because in the beginning, back in the day, not long after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed, its support base in large part came from the working classes. The demographic of the average DPP supporter has certainly changed over the years, but this perception remains. In particular, there is a perception that taxi drivers in Taiwan tend to be predominantly green supporters. In the past, groups of taxi drivers have mobilized in support of the green camp. Practically everywhere you go in Taiwan there are yellow taxi cabs to be hailed, so they would seem to be a formidable force of green supporters. To hear of this flip in political alliance would seem to be a huge blow to the green camp.

A few days after the March 10th rally, there were television reports revealing that the KMT had paid taxi drivers NT$1000 per head to attend the rally supporting Ma Ying-jeou.

On March 12, a rally to support Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), the DPP presidential candidate was organized by taxi drivers in Banciao- near the DPP campaign headquarters there. There were about 2000 taxi drivers in attendance.

What is the story behind the Taipei Taxi Driver Association's switch in support?

I'm certain that Su Beng has plenty to say on this topic, and that, amongst other things will be a topic of discussion at our upcoming meeting in a few days.

One milestone at a time

As I work through this process, I try to acknowledge the little milestones I've reached.

In December I finally finished translating all three years worth of interviews that I've conducted with Su Beng. I've audio and video recorded all of our interviews which are done in Hoklo Taiwanese. Now I finally have written, English transcripts of all the interviews. Many people have asked why I don't just have a translator do the job for me. Aside from not having the funds to hire one to do this, I prefer to take on this challenge myself. Who better than me to understand the purpose behind the questions I have asked Su Beng and the context of his answers? I wouldn't want the spirit and flavor of what's being said in the interviews to get lost in translation. It is a tedious task at times, but it is a part of the process that is absolutely necessary for me to have a complete understanding of this man's life.

These past few months I've been going through this pile of information- recompiling, organizing, documenting and merging all of it. At times it is mind-numbing and repetitive as I try to get the facts straight by listening and "relistening" to various interviews in which we have discussed one particular situation over and over again. This sometimes happens since it takes a few interviews to dig deeper for certain details and specifics. I realize that this is far from the writing and editing process, which will be far more interesting and stimulating for me.

At times I am surprised at what I learn from "relistening" to our interviews. I feel as though I am unearthing little details which are revealing, and that collectively they will tell an authentic story of this man's life. I am amazed by this one man's persistence, and fight against adversity throughout his life. Here are a few of the highlights:

With dogged determination he went to China during World War II to oppose Japan's rising aggression in Asia. Working as an undercover agent for the Chinese Communists, Su Beng grew disillusioned and made a dramatic escape from China back to Taiwan, just as the Chinese Nationalist party (Kuomintang), who had lost to the Chinese Communists, also fled to Taiwan. During the early years of martial law imposed by the authoritarian Kuomintang regime, he started the Taiwan Independence Armed Corps- a group organized to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek. They stockpiled old guns left behind by the Japanese in Taiwan at the end of their 50 year occupation. When the stockpiles of guns were discovered Su Beng went on the lam and eventually escaped once again by stowing away for days in a banana boat bound for Japan.

And if these adventures are not impressive enough, just try to fathom what it took to write Taiwan's 400 Years of History- his most palpable contribution- there are remarkable stories here. Written during Su Beng's years of exile in Japan, and while Taiwan was still under martial law, the first version, which was written in Japanese was published in 1962. An expanded, more complete Chinese version was published in the US in 1980. Supporting documents for the Chinese version were appropriated and bribed from the Kuomintang and smuggled from Taiwan through Su Beng's underground network to Japan. When Kuomintang authorities learned that Su Beng was writing this book, he had to write in secrecy.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Taiwan later this month to fill in the pieces that make up the rest of Su Beng's life story.

On December 11, 2007

Su Beng is pictured here in a photo from The Liberty Times (a Chinese language newspaper) protesting with a pro-independence group in front of the National Normal University in Taipei. They demanded that the university dismantle the Chiang Kai-shek statue standing at the entrance.

If you'd like to read the complete Chinese language article that appeared in The Liberty Times click here.

Ninety... nearly

Su Beng was born on this day in 1918, in the Shih Lin district of Taipei, Taiwan. So I called Su Beng earlier (due to the time difference between New York and Taipei) to wish him a Happy Birthday. Based on the Gregorian calendar, he would now be eighty-nine years old.

But according to Taiwanese custom, he celebrated his ninetieth birthday a few years ago. In Taiwan, a baby is considered one year old when he or she is born. When the new lunar year arrives, another year is added to a person's age, making him or her two years old. Since the first day of the lunar new year usually falls between January 20 and February 21st of the Gregorian calendar, by the end of February 1919, Su Beng was considered 2 years old. By November 18, 1919, he would still be two years old. Following this line of logic, Su Beng would have been eighty-nine years old in 2006. To complicate matters further, the number 9- and odd numbers in general- are considered unlucky by the Taiwanese, so people customarily skip the eighty-ninth year and just round up to ninety. So, Su Beng celebrated his ninetieth birthday in 2006.

We chatted briefly. I told him that I was planning to return to Taiwan in the new year and he told me that he recently published a short book titled, "Why Should Taiwan Be Independent." Once I'm back in Taiwan I will be back to work with him and plan to him help translate "Why Should Taiwan Be Independent" into English.


Draft pages from Su Beng's short book, "Why Should Taiwan Be Independent"