Shih Ming-teh: A life dedicated to Taiwan's democracy

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Veteran democracy activist Shih Ming-teh (施明德) fought his whole life for a democratic and better Taiwan, taking on not only the former authoritarian government but even his own party to hold those in power accountable.

It was that insistence, however, that stopped Shih from realizing his political aspiration of leading the country.

Known as "Taiwan's Nelson Mandela," the political activist spent the first half of his life pushing to end then-Kuomintang (KMT) authoritarian rule, which resulted in him spending more than a quarter of a century in prison.

On Monday, his birthday, Shih passed away after fighting cancer for years. He was 83.

Born in 1941 in Yancheng, southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung, Shih experienced authoritarian rule firsthand when his father was arrested during the crackdown on anti-government protesters in what is known as the 228 Incident, or 228 Massacre, in 1947.

After being released, Shih's father fell ill and never recovered. He died when Shih was 11 years old.

The 228 Incident was an anti-KMT government uprising that resulted in a brutal crackdown, which left tens of thousands of people dead or imprisoned.

As a child, Shih witnessed young students resisting the KMT army being killed. At the age of 18, Shih applied to join a military academy with the goal of using armed rebellion to overthrow then-President Chiang Kai-shek's (蔣介石) regime.

In 1962, while serving as an artillery officer in Kinmen, he was implicated in a Taiwan independence alliance case, arrested, and sentenced to life in prison for inciting rebellion.

In prison, Shih endured repeated torture and beatings. He was finally released in 1977 after Chiang's death in 1975, which prompted the latter's successor Yen Chia-kan (嚴家淦) to order a reduction in prison sentences across Taiwan.

Immediately following his release, Shih became involved in the "Tangwai" (outside-the-party) political opposition movement, which at the time had shifted from publishing opposition magazines to trying to expand its influence through elections.

In 1978, Shih served as the Tangwai campaign team general director, advocating for judicial independence, as well as the lifting of Taiwan's martial law and the ban on forming new political parties and news publications.

On Dec. 10, 1979, Shih and other opposition leaders held a rally in Kaohsiung to commemorate Human Rights Day and call for democracy in Taiwan. The KMT government cracked down on the demonstration and arrested Shih and the other leaders in what became known as the Kaohsiung Incident.

Shih was sentenced to life imprisonment for the second time for his role in the incident, which would prove to be a watershed moment in Taiwan's fight for democracy.

At the Kaohsiung Incident trial before a military court in 1980, Shih stated that Taiwan faced four major obstacles hindering its path to democracy, including the prohibition of political parties and news publications, the existence of martial law, and the absence of legislative elections.

Shih also stressed that Taiwan should be independent and had been for over 30 years, and was now called the Republic of China.

In 1983 and 1984, Shih went on hunger strikes in prison over the mysterious deaths of Taiwanese-American writer Henry Liu (江南) and Taiwanese academic Chen Wen-chen (陳文成), with some suspecting the deaths were linked to KMT security agencies.

Shih called for the lifting of martial law, an end to what he considered state assassination attempts, and the release of political prisoners involved in the Kaohsiung Incident.

During his hunger strikes, which he carried out off and on over a period of four years and seven months, Shih was frequently sent to hospital and force-fed.

On July 15, 1987, Taiwan officially lifted martial law, which had been in place for 38 years. Then President Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) had originally planned to reduce Shih's sentence, but Shih refused, insisting he was innocent and demanding unconditional release.

Shih was eventually released in 1990 during President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) tenure after Lee revoked the verdict of those involved in the Kaohsiung Incident.

In 2019, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident, Shih wrote an essay in which he said freedom is the most important condition for a country "because it enables a nation to determine its destiny according to its own will."

"Freedom and human rights do not have a perfect state -- democracy is an ongoing lesson. They must be continually sought after and nurtured by the people of Taiwan, and their quality enhanced," he wrote.

"I do not owe Taiwan or its people anything --  and I certainly do not need to express gratitude to the Taiwanese government."

After his release in 1990, Shih served as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker from 1993 to 2002, and as a one-term DPP chair from December 1993 to March 1996.

He also devoted himself to pushing for universal direct elections through public vote.

In Taiwan, presidents used to be elected by National Assembly representatives instead of by direct democracy. Following efforts by Shih, the DPP, and the Wild Lily student sit-in protests, Taiwan held its first direct presidential election in 1996.

But Shih's stance as DPP chair in calling for a united government and pushing for cross-party reconciliation between the pro-independence DPP and pro-unification KMT, as well as the New Party, soon made him an enemy within his party.

In 2000, the DPP ended more than half a century of KMT rule in Taiwan by winning the presidency. Shih had considered leaving politics behind but was persuaded to stay by then-newly-elected President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

However, after Chen came to power, Shih began to drift away from the DPP until ultimately in 2006, when he led a large-scale protest campaign against Chen who was then embroiled in corruption charges.

The months-long campaign officially made Shih an enemy of Chen and almost all DPP members as he found himself once again opposing those in power.

Despite being an outcast in his party, he continued highlighting the alleged corruption committed by Chen, who was eventually found guilty and sentenced to prison.

Years later, looking back on this time, Shih memorably said: "If any government -- even a political party I once led -- violates human rights, I will firmly stand up and oppose it alongside the people."

While fighting his party, Shih did not shift closer to the KMT-led blue camp, despite their attempts to convince him to join.

Shih, a political activist at heart, continued his solitary fight in the pursuit of truth as he battled for a more democratic Taiwan.

He made on-and-off public appearances after 2008 when the DPP regained power, but was mainly considered a fringe figure.

In 2015, Shih made his last political push by announcing he was running for the 2016 presidency as an independent, challenging the DPP's candidate, incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

At that time, he proposed a so-called "Greater China Framework" proposal to push for cross-strait peace between mainland China and Taiwan.

According to Shih, the framework aims to recognize the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) as separate legal entities on the global stage, to ensure the peaceful co-existence of both governments.

The proposal, jointly raised by some former KMT and DPP officials as well as scholars, received a positive response from the KMT, which tends to welcome all kinds of cross-strait communication. The DPP was non-committal, saying it respected his right to an opinion.

The Chinese government also gave a lukewarm response, reiterating its stance that both sides of the strait are one China and emphasizing its opposition to Taiwan's independence.

Shih later announced plans to withdraw his presidential bid after he failed to collect the required 300,000 signatures within 45 days of announcing his candidacy.

Friends of Shih has said he spent his entire life searching for "pure truth" which made him a "god of war-like figure" during the martial law period.

However, his hands were largely tied in the modern day due to political reality.

Without the backing of his party, he was never able to thoroughly fulfill his political aspirations, and he inevitably became an enemy of his old comrades as he stuck steadfastly to his principles, insisting on doing what he felt was best for Taiwan, not necessarily for his party.

As Shih once wrote: "One day, life will inevitably come to an end. The value of a person lies in determining their own mission, then dedicating their life to fulfilling it, and facing death calmly at all times."