TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Wednesday urged Taiwanese to unite and defend democracy as the country marked the 39th anniversary of the end of martial law, CNA reported.
Speaking at a DPP meeting, Lai said Taiwan’s freedoms were won through decades of sacrifice. He said the former KMT government restricted basic rights such as freedom of assembly, association, speech, and publication during 38 years and 56 days of martial law, which ended in 1987.
He said the KMT government also used emergency laws and a large intelligence network to monitor society and suppress political opposition. Many academics, democracy activists, and ordinary people were arrested, imprisoned, or persecuted without normal legal procedures, he added.
Lai said their families also faced surveillance, discrimination, and social stigma. These abuses became part of the “White Terror,” a period of political repression in Taiwan.
The president said remembering this history was necessary because democracy could be weakened when people forgot how it was achieved. He also said freedom would face greater danger if the public lost its determination to protect it.
Lai said China was extending the reach of its laws beyond its borders. He cited Beijing’s Anti-Secession Law and other legislation as examples of efforts to impose authoritarian control outside China and intimidate people in democratic societies.
China’s pressure on Taiwan went beyond military threats and gray-zone operations. Beijing also used legal warfare, information campaigns, and political infiltration to weaken public trust in democracy and reduce Taiwan’s will to defend itself, Lai said.
Taiwanese ended authoritarian rule through courage 39 years ago, Lai said. They must now prevent authoritarian rule from returning in any form.
