The Lei Chen Incident
雷震事件
Source: On the Free China Incident
From: Excerpted from Revisiting Meilidao, pp. 26–30
Date: July 2, 1997 Author: Annette Lu
Among publications in Taiwan that disseminated political ideas through oppositional consciousness and thereby generated social waves, Free China (*Free China Journal*) was foremost. The magazine’s initial conception arose before the Nationalist government’s retreat to Taiwan — it was envisioned as a political journal dedicated to expanding the space for democratic freedoms. After the Nationalist government relocated to Taiwan, Free China began publication in Taipei on November 20, 1949. The Free China Incident, also known as the Lei Chen Incident, unfolded in June 1960, when Lei Chen and others associated with the magazine joined with Taiwanese political elites to begin organizing a new opposition party. On September 4, the Nationalist government arrested Lei Chen and his associates in what became known as the “Lei Chen Case,” and the nascent opposition party was stillborn.
Free China Magazine (Source: Wikipedia)
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External Links
- Free China (Wikipedia)
- Lei Chen Incident (Wikipedia)
- The Three Giants of Free China Magazine — Hu Shi, Lei Chen, Yin Hai-guang (People News)
- Lei Chen and Taiwan’s Democratic Movement (Wu San-lien Taiwan Historical Archives Foundation)
- The End of “Free China” — The Near-Overthrow of Taiwan’s Nationalist Regime (Yīdú)