Throughout the 1980s, Nylon Cheng initiated a series of pro-democracy campaigns to protest the on-going martial law imposed by the KMT regime. In 1985, he was sentenced to eight months in jail for violating the Election and Recall Act. While in jail, he kept a journal every day. Of the many things he wrote, one was this: “The turning point to Taiwan becoming a free nation.”

Looking back, we see that Nylon had been creating multiple turning points for Taiwan to become a free place for everyone.

Owing to the efforts of many that came before us, Taiwan is now a part of the free world. But there’s still a long road ahead.

Facing pressure and threat by the People’s Republic of China across the Taiwan Strait, today we face a different challenge. Some Taiwanese self-censor at home, and others struggle to articulate who we are when abroad.

Even though we’re a democratic nation, our status as an independent country is recognized only by a handful of diplomatic allies. Nylon had advocated for Taiwan independence, and today we seek normalization.

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