Martial Law Era

30-second overview: On May 19, 1949, Chen Cheng, then Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government and concurrently Garrison Commander, issued the "Taiwan Province Martial Law Decree," which took effect at midnight on May 20. This decision put Taiwan under martial law for 38 years and 56 days, until July 15, 1987, when Chiang Ching-kuo announced its lifting. The Kinmen-Matsu region's martial law was not lifted until 1992 — five years later than the main island of Taiwan.

📝 Curator's note
For many families, the martial law era has never receded — the stories of 140,000 victim families live on, and they have never been fully told.

Lei Chen's Eleven Years in Prison

On September 4, 1960, the Taiwan Garrison Command arrested Lei Chen on charges of "harboring communist spies" and "knowing of communist spies and failing to report"¹. The political scientist, who had been organizing the "China Democratic Party" to compete with the KMT, would spend the next 11 years in prison before being released in 1970. During those 11 years, Taiwan was under martial law.

✦ "A pure-text BBS from 30 years ago is still influencing Taiwanese politics today." The martial law era is the key to understanding Taiwan's modern political development, but few ask: why was martial law able to last 38 years?

The 38-Year Martial Law Decree

In 1949, the Chinese Civil War entered its final stages. The KMT suffered successive defeats in three major campaigns — Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin — losing crack troops in heavy losses². Facing the worsening situation on the mainland, Chiang Kai-shek began considering a "defend Taiwan" strategy.

On May 19, Chen Cheng, Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government and concurrently Garrison Commander, issued the Taiwan Province Martial Law Decree. At midnight on May 20, martial law formally took effect.

This decision pushed Taiwan into one of the longest periods of martial law in world history. 38 years and 56 days, until July 15, 1987, when Chiang Ching-kuo announced its lifting.

Legal basis of martial law: The Martial Law Act stipulated that "during the period of declared martial law, the highest commander in the martial law area is in charge of administrative and judicial affairs"³. The Taiwan Garrison Command became the core agency actually executing martial law, holding broad administrative and judicial powers.

📝 Curator's note
During the martial law period, the government issued more than 30 control regulations, severely restricting the freedoms granted to citizens by the Constitution. Freedom of assembly, association, speech, movement, personal freedom — almost all basic human rights were stripped away.

The Scale of the White Terror

The martial law period was accompanied by severe political persecution, known as the "White Terror." In the name of anti-communism, the government carried out mass arrests, trials, imprisonment, or execution of political dissidents.

According to official Ministry of Justice data, during 38 years of martial law, military tribunals adjudicated 29,407 criminal cases involving non-active-duty military personnel⁴. Civilian statistics show that political cases involved approximately 140,000 people, with estimates of around 4,500 executed — this is the upper-bound estimate for "executions linked to political cases."

Taiwan's Association for Truth and Reconciliation, applying a stricter "confirmed military-tribunal death sentence" criterion, identified 1,061 death-penalty victims during the martial law period (as of 2013)⁵. Both numbers coexist: 4,500 is an estimate, 1,061 is verified; the gap reflects the incompleteness of authoritarian-era archives.

📊 Data source
The Ministry of Justice statistics show 29,407 military tribunal cases during the martial law period; civilian statistics show approximately 140,000 victims, with executions of 1,061–4,500.

Notable Political Cases

The Lei Chen Case, the Kaohsiung Incident, the Lin Family Massacre, the Chen Wen-chen Case, the Chiang Nan Case. These five cases became symbols of the martial law era. Lei Chen was imprisoned 11 years, Lin Yi-hsiung detained 8 years, Liu Yi-liang murdered in San Francisco. Behind every case were countless shattered families.

⚠️ Contested view
On the specific numbers of the White Terror, sources differ. Official statistics put it at about 140,000 affected, but civic groups estimate it could reach 200,000.

The Joint Surety System

Starting in July 1949, Taiwan implemented a comprehensive joint surety (連坐保證) system⁶. Government employees needed guarantors to be hired; the system gradually extended to all institutions in society, becoming a political vetting system covering the vast majority of the population. This system made everyone potentially an informer. If your guarantor "had a problem," you'd be implicated too.

📝 Curator's note
From the Lei Chen Case to the Chiang Nan Case, behind every case were countless shattered families. The destructive power of political persecution lay both in the arrests and executions, and in keeping the entire society living continually in fear.

The Process of Lifting Martial Law

On July 14, 1987, President Chiang Ching-kuo issued a presidential order, declaring that from midnight on July 15, the martial law decree over the Taiwan area would be lifted⁷. At the same time, 30 related laws from the martial law period were abolished, 237 people who had been court-martialed during martial law were granted commutation or release, and the bans on political parties and newspapers were lifted.

The decision to lift martial law was not sudden. Domestic and international factors converged. Changes in the Cold War order, pressure from the democratic movement, the growth of a middle class brought by economic development, leaders' political reform decisions.

The meaning of lifting martial law exceeded its words: it was the turning point of Taiwan's transition from authoritarianism to democracy.

✦ "Lifting martial law was a door — true democracy only began walking from that moment."

The Five Years of Kinmen-Matsu

After martial law was lifted, the main island of Taiwan entered a new era. But Kinmen-Matsu didn't have its martial law lifted until November 7, 1992⁸. Those five years — what did the people of Kinmen-Matsu live through?

Duration of martial law: 38 years 56 days for the main island of Taiwan; 43 years for Kinmen-Matsu.

Last political prisoners: In December 1984, Lin Shu-yang and Li Chin-mu were released after 34 years and 7 months in prison.

📝 Curator's note
Kinmen-Matsu's martial law was lifted five years later than the main island. In those five years, what did the people of Kinmen-Matsu live through? Did they know that the main island had already lifted martial law?

Legacy of Martial Law

The political legacy left by the martial law era still influences Taiwan today. Authoritarian thinking, polarized opposition, complex identity issues. These are all legacies of the martial law era.

The transitional justice project took three decades to move from investigation to legislation. In December 2017 the Legislative Yuan passed the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice; in May 2018 the Executive Yuan established the "Transitional Justice Commission"; after the task-force agency was dissolved in May 2022, its work was transferred to the National Human Rights Museum, the Ministry of Justice, and the National Development Council to continue⁹. The National Human Rights Museum's Jingmei and Green Island parks have been progressively opened to the public; disputes over compensation to victims and the legal reservation for preserving sites of injustice are still not fully resolved as of 2026.

Martial law left democratic Taiwan three everyday reflexes: emphasis on basic human rights, insistence on rule by law, and vibrant civil-society participation.

📝 Curator's note
The martial law era is a dark chapter in Taiwan's history, but also a catalyst for the awakening of democratic consciousness. To remember this history is to ensure similar tragedies do not repeat.

Ending

At midnight on July 15, 1987, the martial law decree was formally lifted. That night, on Taiwan's streets there were no firecrackers, no celebrations — only countless families silently watching the news in front of their TV sets. An era ended.

But the people of Kinmen-Matsu didn't know yet. They still had to wait another five years.

If, in 2050, someone wants to know what Taiwanese in 1987 cared about, what they read may well be these Markdown files.

References

Further reading:

• Taiwan's Democratic Transition — The full forty-year transformation from martial law to Asia's freest democratic system
• Taiwan White Terror — The real cost of 38 years of martial law: political cases, victims, and the "joint surety" system
• Kaohsiung Incident — A key turning point in the late martial law era of 1979
• Democratization — Taiwan's path to democracy after the lifting of martial law
• 228 Incident — The 1947 historical turning point on the eve of martial law
• Taiwan Transitional Justice — Truth investigations and accountability after the lifting of martial law
• Teresa Teng — A Mainlander military-dependent daughter who grew up under martial law, spending her life on the Cold War frontline: from entertaining troops on Kinmen to her 1989 turn at Happy Valley wearing the "Oppose Military Rule" sign
• National Theater and Concert Hall — Opened in 1987, the same year martial law was lifted; born from authoritarian architectural language, it witnesses the democratization of cultural space in post-martial-law Taiwan

The martial law era is a dark chapter in Taiwan's history, but also a catalyst for the awakening of democratic consciousness. To remember this history is to ensure similar tragedies do not repeat.