3097 Edition
Headline News
30 years after murder, NTU holds memorial for Taiwan democracy hero Chen Wen-cheng
Reported by Sam Lee
Written by Lydia Ma
On July 1, 2011, a candlelight memorial was held and a commemorative plaque erected in memory of Chen Wen-cheng, whose slain body was found on National Taiwan University (NTU) campus the same day 30 years ago. Those gathered, including Chen’s family, professors, friends, and others, lighted candles and demanded that the truth surrounding Chen’s death be uncovered and justice be served.
Chen, a graduate of NTU had travelled to the US in 1975 for further studies and was later hired by Carnegie Mellon University as an assistant professor in CMU’s Department of Statistics. During his stay in the US, he was an active member in the local Taiwanese Association and an outspoken critic of Taiwan’s democracy. He also donated money to Formosa Magazine, a magazine critical of the KMT’s political monopoly in Taiwan.
Chen returned to Taiwan in May 1981 with his family for a seminar. He was whisked away on July 2 by military state security agency personnel for interrogation. His body was later discovered next to the emergency exit of NTU’s library the morning after. He was 31 years old at the time.
Though the military agency insisted Chen had committed suicide and they weren’t responsible for his death, forensic expert Cyril Wecht, who travelled to Taiwan from the US, determined the cause of death to be a homicide. This conclusion led many to speculate that Chen was killed during a forced interrogation and his body purposely left at the library to warn others in NTU to stop meddling in politics.
Since then, PCT and various rights organizations, have been pressuring government authorities to divulge the truth behind Chen’s mysterious death. NTU has never publicly mourned Chen’s death until this year, when a simple commemorative plaque was placed at the site where his body was found.
Chen’s elder brother said Chen was often tattled by fellow Taiwanese students who were secretly working for the then KMT-government, which had no regards for human rights. Many of these Taiwanese students are now serving in the Ma administration, which explains why Taiwan’s democracy has backslid in the past 2 years. He underscored that if the KMT wins the 2012 elections, Taiwan’s democracy will continue on its downward spiral to the place it was 30 years ago.
Chen’s older sister, Chen Pao-yueh, said their father has never ceased to ask for the truth behind his son’s death. For the family, not knowing the truth is a stain on Taiwan’s reputation and an offense to its people. She hopes this generation will rise up to the occasion so the family can see some justice served.
