Swimming Upstream

Su Beng has been a lot less ambulatory since he was hospitalized for kidney failure in Japan last November, but just recently, I heard from his assistant Bin Hong that he has taken up swimming in the mornings again. I am so heartened to hear this. For as long as I have known him, swimming has always been a part of his morning routine.

This man really has an amazing stamina and memory for his age. Most of my interviews with him, which were conducted at his residence in Sinjhuang, lasted nearly 6 hours. We'd start around 10:00 am, break for lunch and continue until 4:00 pm. As he talked to me about his life, he'd provide me with a historical context, effectively giving me a short history lesson in the process. I have found him to be extremely consistent as we have delved deeper into more detailed discussions of his key life experiences and many adventures. He has always been extremely generous- providing me with lunch in his home and has always accommodated my requests to meet and speak with him.

Since I have relocated to New York, we have continued to communicate via Skype and I look forward to more "virtual conversations" with him in the coming months. At times I am humbled by the magnitude of knowledge required to truly understand and tell this man's story.

In this caricature Su Beng is standing on the island of Taiwan which is surrounded by three sharks symbolized by the flags of China, the Kuomintang (aka Nationalist Chinese) party and United States of America. In his hand he wields a pen on one end and an ax on the other. The pen is one of his "weapons" to protect Taiwan; by writing Taiwan's 400 Years of History, he has awakened the political conscience of the people of Taiwan, giving them a sense of purpose and the will to fight for a free, and independent Taiwan. The ax is a weapon to kill the sharks circling Taiwan. And the globe has landed on Taiwan, symbolizing the need for the international community to keep it's eye on Taiwan. Su Beng believes that Taiwan needs more attention and support from the international community.

On May 20, 2010...

The Taiwan Independence Action Motorcade (獨立台灣會) and Su Beng called for a referendum on the free trade act between Taiwan and China (aka the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement) and participated in a silent sit-in protest.

A protest to coincide with the second anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) inauguration, was set to begin at noon in front of the Legislative Yuan on that day. Protesters planned a three day sit-in to increase pressure on the government to hold a referendum on its proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.

Read more about the 5/20 protest in these Taipei Times articles:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/05/20/2003473411
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2010/05/21/2003473518

Here are some photos from that day:

The sign on this Taiwan Independence Action Motorcade truck reads:

Want freedom
Have to be independent first



The sign on the Taiwan Independence Action Motorcade truck reads:

Want democracy
Have to be independent first

Finished first draft of sample chapter for Su Beng's biography!

I have finished writing the first draft of an exciting sample chapter for the book proposal for the biography of Su Beng. The chapter I've chosen to highlight covers Su Beng's escape from Taiwan after his involvement in a plot to assassinate Chiang Kai-Shek was discovered. In early 1952, after months of working as a laborer loading bananas onto the boats of a banana trading company, Su Beng was able to stow away in the cargo section of one of these boats en route to Japan. I've written briefly about his escape and the noodle shop that he eventually set up in Japan in a previous blog post here.

Of course I'll be sharing this first chapter with Su Beng himself and looking forward to some discussions with him over Skype about it, and other chapters that will be in the works soon.

Yesterday was the beginning of Taiwanese American Heritage week, and there's a facebook campaign going on to coincide with it. Participants are posting an image that reads "Taiwan is NOT part of China" as their profile photo to increase awareness of Taiwan's situation.

I've invited the tech-savvy 91 year old Su Beng who is on facebook to participate. So far it has generated some interesting comments and discussions for me on my facebook page.

More on Su Beng's March 14 appearance at Taiwan University

Lately I've noticed some new comments from people who have visited this blog and I want to thank everyone for their interest and encouragement. It is really very much appreciated. It is always amazing to see that people are finding my blog, reading it and interested in my project to document Su Beng's life.

Below are some photos from 文輔 許, which were taken at the Taiwan University event on March 14. You can see a slide show of photos from the event here: Bunhu Natea's album





Su Beng signs copies of "Crossing The Red Tide"

The March 14th event was reported on the evening news in Taiwan and you can watch it here:

Crossing The Red Tide

At 9:00am on Sunday, March 14, 2010, Su Beng will be speaking at Taiwan University about his new book 紅色浪潮-封面初稿 (Crossing the Red Tide) and sharing some of his life experiences. Here's a brief translation of the above schedule of events for the day:

09:00-09:30 Registration and check-in

09:30-09:40 Opening remarks by Professor Lai (賴義雄) & Professor Chen (陳儀深) of the Taiwan Association of University Professors

09:40-11:40 Discussion panel/Paper presentation about Su Beng’s life and the Taiwan independence movement

Moderator: Professor Chen (陳儀深)
Panelists: Professor Lan (藍士博), Mr. Lin (林嘉立), Mr. Chen (張之豪), Mr. Yeh (葉紘麟), Mr. Wu (吳乃德)

11:40-13:00 Lunch break

13:00-13:30 Documentary screening

13:30-13:40 Singing performance by Wang Ming-Zhe (王明哲)

13:40-14:40 Su Beng talks about some of his life experiences

Moderator: Professor Liao (廖宜恩), Vice President of the Taiwan Association of University Professors
Panelists: Professor Liao (廖偉程), Professor Tsai (蔡丁貴), Professor Chen (張信堂), Bin Hong (敏紅, Su Beng’s assistant)

14:40-15:30 Question & answer session with Su Beng

15:30 Closing

This event is being organized by the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP)

For more information:

Call: (02)2362-8797

E-mail：taup@seed.net.tw

Register online here: www.taup.org.tw

I'm happy to report that Su Beng was released from the hospital on January 20 and is now working on writing chapters for his own biography, which will be written in Chinese.

The Taiwan Independence Action Motorcade protests cross-strait talks being held with Chen Yunlin

Photo: Reuters

In this photo, a demonstrator standing atop a Taiwan Independence Action motorcade (獨立台灣會) propaganda truck burns a Chinese flag in protest of the cross-strait talks being held at the Windsor Hotel in Taichung on December 22.

This photo appeared in this Taipei Times article:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/12/23/2003461653

Here's another related story from the Taipei Times:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/12/23/2003461657

Video footage of Su Beng's December 17 return to Taipei, Taiwan after being hospitalized in Tokyo, Japan

This video of Su Beng's release from the hospital in Japan and return to Taiwan on December 17 begins with the following words that flash across the screen:

2009/12/17

死地要死在家鄉~台灣
獨立台灣會史明老前背返國
公投盟等本土社團桃園機場接機
晚間於立法院前舉辦燭光祈福晚會

Here is the English translation of the above:

2009/12/17

If it's my time to go, I'd rather die on the soil of my homeland- Su Beng

Su Beng, an elder of the Taiwan independence movement was greeted in the Taiwan Taoyuan Airport by the Taiwan Referendum Alliance and several Taiwan civic groups.

That night there was a candlelight vigil for Su Beng in front of the Legislative Yuan.

The video begins with shots of Su Beng being released from the hospital in Japan, and then being driven to Haneda Airport (Tokyo International Airport).

Back at the Taiwan Taoyuan Airport supporters awaiting Su Beng's arrival practice shouting "Long live Taiwan nationalism! Long live Taiwan independence!"

Su Beng is shown being wheeled into the Haneda Airport.

Upon arriving at the Taiwan Taoyuan Airport, Su Beng is greeted by people shouting "Long live Taiwan nationalism! Long live Taiwan independence! Su Beng Ojisan* we love you!"

Su Beng is taken by ambulance to a Taipei hospital, where he will remain for about 10 more days.

Later that night at a candlelight vigil held in front of the Legislative Yuan for Su Beng, several people assembled and the following people spoke:

Professor Tsai: We are very thankful today that Su Beng Ojisan was able to get on a plane to return to Taiwan from Japan. We made a special trip to the airport to welcome him home. Thank you for everyone’s warm welcome. The things that concern Su Beng the most are continued Taiwan nationalism and nation building. It seems as though, well, we all saw Su Beng ourselves, and he looks well. But what the news media is interested in is the timing of Su Beng's return to Taiwan. Why has Su Beng chosen to return at this particular time? Is there any reason behind this? I believe that the reason why Su Beng chose to return to Taiwan now is mainly because next week Chen Yunlin [an envoy sent by the Chinese Communist Party and chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS)] will be coming to Taiwan for a visit. In fact, several years ago, the first time Tang Su Bei [a Chinese Communist party representative] came to Taiwan for a visit, Su Beng led people in a protest of his visit. The reason [for these protests] is always the same, because Taiwan is not a part of China. Taiwan belongs to the Taiwanese; Taiwan is the Taiwanese people’s Taiwan. China cannot treat Taiwan as its territory. The Chinese Communists should not think that they can just come here to check up on us as if Taiwan’s government is a part of its local government. We will not accept this sort of treatment or subordination under any circumstances. So when Tang Su Bei came to Taiwan Su Beng led people in a protest and when Lien Chan went to China he also led people in a protest. Because of Su Beng's involvement in protests of Lien Chan’s trip to China, he was recently charged with about 6 months of jail time and fined. This time, while in Japan, the hospital expenses were quite high. Su Beng doesn’t have health insurance there, so he had to pay a lot of these expenses out of pocket. Now several presidents of the North American Taiwanese Professors Association chapters are voluntarily trying to fundraise for Su Beng. If you can, offer your support in any way that you can. Today he has returned because he wants to encourage the people of Taiwan to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Bin Hong: …so much concern for Su Beng. Everyone is so happy that Ojisan has finally been able to return safely to Taiwan. He himself is also really happy too. On November 11, when Su Beng fell sick, A-diong was the only person from the Taiwan Independence Association there by his side. At that time, having encountered such situation, made one understand what it feels like to be really helpless... [looking around and being alone] without any relatives or friends by one’s side, unable to communicate- because A-diong and I can’t speak any Japanese. So at that time it was quite despondent. That first week, Su Beng’s kidney function was at a critically low level. By Taiwan’s medical standards, dialysis would have been used to treat him by the third day. But fortunately, at the time he was in Japan and over a month’s time of treatment and care [Su Beng was treated with the use of a catheter and IV], his condition is now stable. It really was… such a painfully miserable situation. It’s very fortunate that Ojisan was able to get through this hardship. I told Ojisan that there is a Taiwanese saying, “If one is able to survive such hardship then they be able to live until 120.” We want him to continue fighting for Taiwan. He’s been able to overcome such hardship and return safely to Taiwan today also because there were so many people including overseas Taiwanese who have offered their moral support. The phone kept ringing with people offering encouragement, and there were people like Professor Tsai, Mr. Chen and everyone who went there to encourage him and Freddie and a lot of other people who flew from Taiwan to Japan just to visit and offer him encouragement. It was because of this that Su Beng had the strength and will to fight to overcome this, I believe it was because of all the encouragement that Taiwanese people gave him… Really, for someone with such poor health, to have to go through something like this is so tough. Thank you everyone for your support, because of everyone’s support he has been able to get through all of this. Thank you everyone, thank you everyone.

Prayers said during the candlelight vigil:

We thank god for giving us all the opportunity today to gather here together to welcome home the most respected ninety-three year old Taiwanese Revolutionary, our Su Beng Ojisan, who has spent his life fighting for Taiwan, for independence, for nationalism, and for the Taiwanese people’s dignity. He has returned to fight for Taiwan. We will continue to follow and support his ideals of Taiwanese nationalism and the dream of building a new country Taiwan. We ask god to give use strength to deal with Chen Yunlin and Ma Ying-jeou.

At the end of the candelight vigil participants sing the song: “Taiwan Forever Green”

*Oijisan is a Japanese term which means uncle

Corrections

In response to my comments, Michael Richardson of the Boston Examiner has made corrections to his recent article, Su Beng returns to a hero's welcome in Taiwan where he faces ROC jail cell.

The edited article appears here: http://www.examiner.com/x-1969-Boston-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m12d19-Su-Beng-returns-to-a-heros-welcome-in-Taiwan-where-he-faces-ROC-jail-cell

A hero's welcome

Michael Richardson of the Boston Examiner has written about Su Beng's return to a hero's welcome.

Of course, as Su Beng's English Biographer, it is my duty to offer correction, clarification and comments where necessary and they appear below, after Mr. Richardson's article.

Here is Mr. Richardson's article:

Su Beng returns to a hero's welcome in Taiwan where he faces ROC jail cell:

Su Beng, Taiwan's elder champion of independence, has returned to Taiwan to a hero's welcome. The aged and ailing Su Beng had been hospitalized in Japan and fears were that he would not be able to return home.

While receiving treatment in Japan a number of Taiwanese independence advocates made a pilgrimage to Su Beng's bedside including musician Freddy Lim. Generations apart in age, the two men share a desire for Taiwan independence.

Photo courtesy of: Freddy Lim

Freddy Lim's visit to Japan to see Su Beng must raise concerns with the Republic of China in-exile government controlling Taiwan. Freddy, as he is known worldwide, is a heavy metal rock star and promotes Taiwan's liberation from the stage during his performances.

Freddy's message seems to be striking a chord with the youth of Taiwan. A recent poll showed that seven out of ten in the 18-29 year-old age group identify themselves as Taiwanese rather than Chinese, a demographic shift with huge political implications for the Kuomintang rulers of the island.

Su Beng can be expected to return to the struggle for independence for which he has tirelessly worked for over six decades. The Chinese government of Ma Ying-jeou must now decide if they intend to jail Su Beng for the 9-month prison sentence he recently received for a 2005 protest.

Su Beng was leading a protest against the Chinese at an airport rally when he got word that fellow demonstrators were being attacked by men in black shirts--organized thugs that disrupt outdoor political events in Taiwan--and gestured with his cane. Su Beng's outrage at the actions of the black shirts was seen by the ROC government as using a weapon to incite violence.

Although the news media in Taiwan give Su Beng infrequent attention, his weekly motorcades and other protests have made him a word-of-mouth folk hero and his views are moving from the margins of society into the mainstream.

Any attempt to lock up the frail advocate is sure to be met with noisy street protests and take Su Beng's message of independence to a larger audience.

==================================================

Here are my comments in response to Mr. Richardson's article:

Dear Michael,

Thank you kindly for writing about Su Beng and keeping all of us informed about him.

I'd like to offer few corrections, comments and clarification about your article.

Though the ROC Supreme Court did recently uphold a prison sentence for Su Beng, the sentence is for 6 months and 50 days (or a total of 230 days), not 9 months. A 9-month sentence was given to Bin Hong, Su Beng's assistant.

I'd also like to clarify that Su Beng has not been charged for gesturing with his cane- which could be misconstrued as a weapon. He has been charged for 2 incidents that occurred on April 26, 2005: 1) trying to obstruct Lien Chan on the highway en route to the Taiwan Taoyuan Airport 2) setting off fireworks in the Taiwan Taoyuan Airport.

I wrote about a photo in the Taipei Times that appeared with a caption stating "Su Beng waves a stick." The stick was in fact his cane: www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2009/10/08/2003455408

The Taipei Times captioned this photo: Veteran independence activist Su Beng waves a stick inside Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on April 26, 2005, during a protest against then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan’s visit to China.

If you read Mr. Richardson's article on the examiner.com website, you will notice that at the end of it is a video posted on www.youtube.com by Taiwan Independent Media Inc. It is a video of Su Beng's release from the hospital in Japan and return to Taiwan. I was touched to see how Su Beng was received at the airport and to hear many of the things said in the video. In a few days, I will post a translation of what was said in the video.