[3084] Editorial: From passive remembrance to active awareness

Editorial: From passive remembrance to active awareness

Translated by Lydia Ma

On April 3, 2011, just as President Ma was getting ready to address a crowd of demonstrators who’d come to  ppose the Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co. project, he was rebutted by protest leader Lin Shih-hsien and asked by another protester to sign a declaration that he intended scrap the building project, but the President refused to do so.

Ma’s refusal to scrap this project and Lin’s verbal rebuttal and attack drew a lot of media attention on that day. Questioned about his response, Lin said he regretted that President Ma dodged the topic altogether and further angered the crowd. He also apologized to anyone who might have been offended by his verbal attack and rebuttal, but pleaded that reports of this event stay on the topic of nuclear energy and on whether the President was planning to cancel the building of Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology. Regardless of whether President Ma came across as contemptuous of the will of the people, the fact that we can now speak up so boldly against a national leader’s incompetence without fearing reprisals is something worth cherishing and celebrating nonetheless.

It’s been a long journey for Taiwan from the imposition of martial law where criticism of a president would likely be rewarded with a severe beating, to boldly speaking one’s mind anywhere without fear of government reprisal.

Though we should be proud of this achievement, we must nevertheless remember that freedom of speech in Taiwan came with a heavy cost and through the sacrifice of many people. This freedom didn’t grow effortlessly from a tree and it took some violent shakings and sacrifices for people to take hold of it. One of the sacrifices we saw on the road to democracy was the life and death of Deng Nan-jung, an editor-in-chief of a banned newspaper who set himself on fire 22 years ago to protest the lack of freedom of speech.

In the book of Deuteronomy, we read about God instructing the Israelites to remember God’s commandments  and to always keep these close to heart and pass them on to their children so that all may go well with this new nation. We know that this is not how they would always behave and the sacrifice of many people’s lives was required for God’s people to become aware of their condition.

As we remember our ancestors during Tomb Sweeping Day, let’s also remember our heroes and emulate how they laid down their lives for their country. Let’s remember their sacrifice for this land and think about what kind of legacy we want to leave for future generations.