The Martial Law Era

30-Second Overview: On May 19, 1949, Chen Cheng, Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Garrison Command, promulgated the "Taiwan Provincial Martial Law," which took effect at midnight on May 20. This decision plunged Taiwan into a state of martial law lasting 38 years and 56 days, until Chiang Ching-kuo announced its lifting on July 15, 1987. The Kinmen and Matsu regions did not have martial law lifted until 1992, five years later than the main island of Taiwan.

📝 Curator's Note
For many families, the Martial Law era is never far away—the stories of 140,000 victimized families live on, and much of it has yet to be fully told.

The Eleven Years of Lei Zhen's Imprisonment

On September 4, 1960, the Garrison Command arrested Lei Zhen¹ on charges of "shielding spies" and "knowing of spies but failing to report." A political scholar who was originally organizing the "China Democratic Party" to compete with the Kuomintang (KMT), he spent 11 years in prison, only being released in 1970. During these 11 years, Taiwan was under martial law.

✦ "A text-only BBS from 30 years ago still influences Taiwanese politics today." The Martial Law era is key to understanding the development of modern Taiwanese politics, but few ask: why could martial law persist for 38 years?

The 38-Year Martial Law Decree

In 1949, the Chinese Civil War was reaching its end. The KMT suffered successive defeats in the three major campaigns—the Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin campaigns—resulting in heavy losses to its elite troops². Faced with the deteriorating situation in mainland China, Chiang Kai-shek began considering a strategy to "preserve Taiwan."

On May 19, Chen Cheng, Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Garrison Command, promulgated the Taiwan Provincial Martial Law. At midnight on May 20, martial law officially took effect.

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

The 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 shall manage administrative and judicial affairs"³. The Taiwan Garrison Command became the core institution for enforcing martial law, wielding extensive administrative and judicial powers.

📝 Curator's Note
During the martial law period, the government promulgated over 30 various regulatory decrees, severely restricting the fundamental rights granted to the people by the Constitution: freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, and personal liberty. 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." Under the guise of anti-communism, the government conducted large-scale arrests, trials, detentions, or executions of political dissidents.

According to official data from the Ministry of Justice, during the 38 years of martial law, there were a total of 29,407 criminal cases involving non-active duty military personnel adjudicated by military authorities⁴. Civil statistics show that approximately 140,000 people were involved in politically related cases, with an estimated death toll of around 4,500—this represents the upper estimate for "executions related to political cases."

The Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR) uses a different metric based on "confirmed military law death sentences"; as of 2013, they had confirmed 1,061 death penalty victims during the martial law era⁵. Two figures coexist: 4,500 is an estimate, while 1,061 is verified; this gap reflects the incompleteness of archives from the authoritarian era.

📊 Data Sources
The Ministry of Justice recorded 29,407 military trial cases during martial law; civil statistics suggest approximately 140,000 victims, with executions estimated between 1,061 and 4,500 people.

Notable Political Cases

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

⚠️ Controversial Perspectives
Regarding the specific numbers of the White Terror, different sources vary. Official statistics suggest about 140,000 people were implicated, but civil groups estimate the number could reach 200,000.

The System of Guaranteors (Lianzuo)

Starting in July 1949, Taiwan implemented a comprehensive system of "guarantors" (liánzuò)⁶. Government employees had to have a guarantor to be hired; the system gradually expanded to various social institutions, becoming a political screening system that covered the vast majority of the population. This system made it possible for anyone to become an informant. If your guarantor "had problems," you would be implicated as well.

📝 Curator's Note
From the Lei Zhen incident to the Jiang Nan case, behind every case were countless broken families. The destructive power of political persecution lay not only in arrests and executions but also in forcing the entire society to live in continuous fear.

The Path to Lifting Martial Law

On July 14, 1987, President Chiang Ching-kuo promulgated a presidential order declaring that martial law in the Taiwan area would be lifted starting from midnight on July 15⁷. Simultaneously, 30 relevant decrees from the martial law period were abolished, sentences for 237 individuals tried under military law during the era were commuted or they were released, and bans on political parties and the press were lifted.

The decision to lift martial law was not sudden; it was a convergence of domestic and international factors: changes in the Cold War landscape, pressure from democratic movements, the growth of the middle class brought by economic development, and the political reform decisions of leadership.

The significance of lifting martial law went beyond the literal: it was the turning point for Taiwan's transition from authoritarianism to democracy.

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

The Five Years in Kinmen and Matsu

After the lifting of martial law, the main island of Taiwan entered a new era. However, the Kinmen and Matsu regions did not have martial law lifted until November 7, 1992⁸. What did the people in Kinmen and Matsu experience during those five years?

Duration of Martial Law: 38 years and 56 days for the main island of Taiwan; up to 43 years for the Kinmen and Matsu regions.

The Last Political Prisoners: In December 1984, Lin Shu-yang and Li Jin-mu were released after serving 34 years and 7 months in prison.

📝 Curator's Note
The lifting of martial law in Kinmen and Matsu was five years later than on the main island. What did the people there experience during those five years? Did they even know that martial law had already been lifted on the main island?

The Legacy of Martial Law

The political legacy left by the martial law era continues to influence Taiwan today: authoritarian mindsets, extreme polarization, and complex identity issues. These are all legacies of the martial law period.

The work of transitional justice has spanned thirty years, from investigation to legislation. In December 2017, the Legislative Yuan passed the Regulations for Promoting Transitional Justice; in May 2018, the Executive Yuan established the "Transitional Justice Commission"; after its dissolution in May 2022, its duties were transferred to the National Human Rights Museum, the Ministry of Justice, and the Development Council⁹. The Jingmei and Green Island campuses of the National Human Rights Museum have successively opened to the public; however, legal disputes regarding victim compensation and the preservation of sites of injustice remain unresolved as of 2026.

Martial law left three daily instincts for democratic Taiwan: a respect for fundamental human rights, an adherence to administration according to the law, and active participation in civil society.

📝 Curator's Note
The martial law era was a dark chapter in Taiwan's history, but it was also a catalyst for the awakening of democratic consciousness. We remember this history to ensure that similar tragedies never happen again.

Conclusion

At midnight on July 15, 1987, martial law was officially lifted. That night, there were no firecrackers or celebrations on the streets of Taiwan; there were only countless families watching the news silently in front of their televisions. An era had ended.

But the people in Kinmen and Matsu did not know yet. They would have to wait another five years.

If someone in the year 2050 wants to know what people in Taiwan cared about in 1987, perhaps these Markdown files are what they will read.

References

Further Reading:

• Taipei Smoking Rooms: In a Smoke-Free City, That Breathable Glass Box — During the era when long-lived tobacco markets held 70% and the Monopoly Bureau monopolized tobacco and alcohol, this was the starting point of the long march toward smoking bans.

• Taiwan's Democratic Transition — A complete view of the forty-year transition from martial law to one of Asia's freest democracies.

• Taiwan's White Terror — The true cost of 38 years of martial law: political cases, victims, and the "guarantor" system.

• The Formosa Incident — A major turning point during the late martial law period in 1979.

• Democratization — The journey of Taiwan toward democracy after the lifting of martial law.

• 228 Incident — The historical turning point of 1947 on the eve of martial law.

• Taiwan's Transitional Justice — Truth investigations and accountability for perpetrators following the lifting of martial law.

• Matsu International Art Island — A concrete example where the Lienchiang County Government turned tunnels and outposts left by wartime administration into a ten-year curation project; the difficulty of the exhibition "Who Has the Right to Speak for Whom" in the Special Tea Room is a shared challenge of the martial law legacy.

• National Human Rights Museum — A museum built by the state itself to commemorate victims of the martial law era, unveiled in 2018; its budget was once frozen in 2025.

• Teresa Teng — The daughter of an out-of-province military family who grew up during the martial law era, standing on the front lines of the Cold War throughout her life: from performing for troops in Kinmen to her transformation at Happy Valley in 1989 wearing an "anti-military rule" sign.

• Two Repositories (228 Peace Memorial Park/Museum) — Completed in 1987, the same year martial law was lifted; starting with an authoritarian architectural vocabulary, it serves as a microcosm of the democratization of cultural spaces in Taiwan after martial law.

• Yin Hai-kuang — The most representative liberal scholar of the martial law era; placed under house arrest following the 1960 Lei Zhen case, and his work Perspectives on Chinese Culture was banned in 1966.

• Highways — Why the cost of land expropriation during the authoritarian era "left no names behind"; the answer is in this article: while verifying the fifty-year legends of Taiwan's national highways, one repeatedly encounters the institutional vacuum of the martial law era—no public hearings, no administrative litigation.

The martial law era was a dark chapter in Taiwan's history, but it was also a catalyst for the awakening of democratic consciousness. We remember this history to ensure that similar tragedies never happen again.