Cheng Nan-jung | |||||||||||
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鄭南榕 | |||||||||||
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| Born | (1947-09-12)12 September 1947 Taipei, Taiwan | ||||||||||
| Died | 7 April 1989(1989-04-07) (aged 41) Taipei, Taiwan | ||||||||||
| Cause of death | Burns fromself-immolation | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | National Cheng Kung University Fu Jen Catholic University National Taiwan University | ||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | publisher, democracy activist | ||||||||||
| Known for | Self-immolation,Taiwan independence | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Yeh Chu-lan | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 鄭南榕 | ||||||||||
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Cheng Nan-jung (鄭南榕,Hokkien:Tēnn Lâm-iông; nicknamedNylon Deng; 12 September 1947 – 7 April 1989) was a Taiwanese publisher and pro-democracyactivist. He was the founder of the Freedom Era Weekly. He is most known internationally forsetting himself on fire in support of freedom of speech.
Cheng's father was aFuzhou immigrant in Taiwan under Japanese rule and his mother was fromKeelung, Taiwan. His parents had four sons.[1] Cheng was born in the year of theFebruary 28 Incident. On his first job-seeking résumé, Cheng Nan-jung wrote: "I was born the year of the February 28 Incident, and this incident has tormented me throughout my life.... Only because we were protected by our neighbors were we Waishengrens safe from the wave of retaliation from the Taiwanese." He wrote that his experience growing up in theWhite Terror drove his commitment toTaiwan independence.
Cheng studied engineering atTaiwan Provincial Cheng Kung University, and philosophy atFu Jen Catholic University andNational Taiwan University. He refused to take the classes onSun Yat-sen Thought (國父思想), which did not become optional until 2006, and handed back his National Taiwan University graduation certificate.
In March 1984, he founded Freedom Era Weekly and declared that "[it was] fighting for 100 percent freedom of speech." Cheng Nan-jung had registered 18 different magazines as "spare tires" for use when theKuomintangbanned the magazine and suspended publication. He said, "I'm not scared of arrest nor of being killed, basically, I'll fight them to the very end." The magazine was banned several times by the authorities but continued to be printed and distributed.
In 1989, Cheng was charged withinsurrection for printing a proposal for aconstitution for theRepublic of Taiwan. An arrest warrant was issued.[2] He refused to appear in court. When the police attempted to break into his office in order to arrest him on April 7, he committed suicide byself-immolation. He set fire to his office and died in the blaze.[2] His immolation protest against theKuomintang was covered byFormosa Television several years later.[3]
At Cheng's funeral on May 19, another Taiwanese pro-democracy activist,Chan I-hua, also immolated himself when the funeral procession was blocked by police.
Cheng's widow,Yeh Chu-lan, held senior positions in theDemocratic Progressive Party administration between 2000 and 2005. Former Vice Premier, she was acting mayor ofKaohsiung from July 2005 to December 2006. In 2007 she was mentioned as a possible running mate forFrank Hsieh in the 2008 Taiwan Presidential Election, but in the end Hsieh pickedSu Tseng-chang.
In 1999, a museum dedicated to Cheng called theCheng Nan-jung Liberty Museum was opened inTaipei. The museum rests on the venue where Cheng immolated himself.[4] On 22 December 2016, the Executive Yuan announced that 7 April every year would become Freedom of Expression Day to commemorate his death.[5]
In November 2013, theNational Cheng Kung University renowned for itspolitical sciences studies held a vote to choose the name for a new square. Cheng's name won the vote, but the university chief secretary preferred to ignore the vote outcome.[6]
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