Taiwan’s Political-Legal Progress: Memories of the KMT Dictatorship

Abstract

This brief memoir illustrates Taiwan’s modern human rights history in broad strokes through my own experiences. It begins with a first visit in 1961, when the island was suffering under the harsh Chiang Kai-shek dictatorship. It ends with my participation in the unique recent reviews of Taiwan’s immense human rights progress by leading international specialists. Along the way, I was privileged to witness and take part in a few depressing but exciting and ultimately hopeful events that marked the long transition from KMT repression to constitutional democracy.

Keywords: Constitutional democracy, Dictatorship, Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Ching-kuo, KMT, Peng Ming-min, Henry Liu, Annette Lu, Ma Ying-jeou