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Cheng Nan-jung
鄭南榕
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
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhèng Nánróng Southern Min HokkienPOJ Tēⁿ Lâm-iông

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Branch Taiwan independence Left-wing Republic of China independence Independent Taiwan [zh] Republic of Taiwan independence
Theory 1996 consensus [zh] Four-Stage Theory Four Wants and One Without One Country on Each Side Republic of China is Taiwan [zh] Republic of China on Taiwan Second Republic of the Republic of China [zh] Special state-to-state relations Taiwan consensus Taiwan Value Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan Two Chinas Two Sides, Two Constitutions [zh]
Document A Declaration of Formosan Self-salvation [zh] The Programme of New Generation [zh] Resolution on Taiwan's Future Taiwan Independence Clause [zh] Treaty of Shimonoseki Treaty of San Francisco
History Kingdom of Middag Kingdom of Tungning Republic of Formosa Taiwan under Japanese rule Retrocession of Taiwan
Incident 2008 Taiwanese United Nations membership referendum Additional Articles of the Constitution Anti-Black Box Curriculum Movement Article 100 of the Criminal Code [zh] Attempted Assassination of Chiang Ching-kuo [zh] The Case of Scheming for Taiwan Independence [zh] The Case of Taiwan Independence Association [zh] The Case of Su Tong-ch'i [zh] Chen Wen-chen Incident [zh] February 28 Incident Fully election and recall of legislators [zh] Formosa Incident Guanziling Conference [zh] The Murder of the Lin Family [zh] Petition Movement for the Establishment of a Taiwanese Parliament Presidential elections in Taiwan 1996 Qiandao Lake Incident The self-immolation of Cheng Nan-jung Sunflower Student Movement Taiwan Passport Sticker Taiyuan Incident Third Taiwan Strait Crisis Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 White Terror Wild Lily student movement Zhongli incident
Policy Abrogation of Guidelines for National Unification Abolition of National Unification Council No haste, Be patient [zh] Referendum Act Streamlining of Taiwan Province [zh]
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Organization Formosan League for Reemancipation Liberty Times One Side One Country Alliance [zh] Provisional Government [zh] Taiwan Independence Revolutionary Armed Force Taiwanese Cultural Association World United Formosans for Independence
People (big-tent) Chai Chang Chen (Chih-hsiung) Chen (Lung-chu) Chen (Nan-tien) [zh] Chen (Shui-bian) Cheng Chiang (Ping-hsing) [zh] Chiang (Wei-shui) Hsiao Huang Kin Ko [zh] Koh Koo Lai Lee (Chen-Yuan) Lee (Teng-hui) Lee (Ying-yuan) Liao (Joshua) [zh] Liao (Shih-hao) [zh] Liao (Thomas) Lin Lim Lo [zh] Lu Ng Peng Su (Beng) Su (Tong-ch'i) [zh] Tsai Tsay
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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 offreedom 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]

• List of political self-immolations
• Altruistic death

• twhistory.org.tw - An epic poem not yet finished: Twelve years after Cheng Nan-jung's self-immolation

• 1947 births
• 1989 suicides
• 1989 deaths
• Fu Jen Catholic University alumni
• Magazine editors
• National Cheng Kung University alumni
• National Taiwan University alumni
• Writers from Taipei
• Suicides by self-immolation in Taiwan
• Suicides in Taiwan
• Taiwan independence activists
• Taiwanese democracy activists
• Taiwanese revolutionaries
• 20th-century Taiwanese journalists
• Spouses of Taiwanese politicians
• Taiwanese editors
• Taiwanese anti-imperialists
• Suicides by self-immolation

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