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NOTE: This episode is not suitable for young children.
In part one, we begin in Saigon in 1963 before returning to Taiwan in the days before the nation became a full democracy. The stories and asides lead to Nylon Deng (Cheng Nan-jung 鄭南榕), a hardcore Taiwanese pro-democracy and pro-independence activist, who was born a few months after the 228 Incident in 1947. In 1989, after a long stand-off with the police, he chose self-immolation over arrest.
Journalist Malcolm Browne's photograph of Quảng Đức during his self-immolation. The photograph won the 1963 World Press Photo of the Year
His last words:
"Before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to President Ngô Đình Diệm to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the lay Buddhists to organize in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism."
Seeing these images, US President John F. Kennedy said, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one"
Watch video of the police raid on Nylon Deng - April 7, 1989
Below: Tarek El-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi (1984 – 2011) was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire in December 2010 in the town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. He lingered for more than two weeks before dying following his self-immolation. His death became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
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Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
