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NOTE: This episode is not suitable for young children.
The story of Nylon Deng is too often painted in terms of good/bad, black/white…but almost nothing is ever so binary. January 1989: Deng is summoned to answer charges of sedition/treason for publishing an idea for a constitution for the “Republic of Taiwan.” He vows not to be taken alive. However, unlike almost every article about him, Formosa Files isn’t going to stick to the script of “the police tried to break in and he self-immolated.” Instead, we try to offer some new perspectives on his fiery end. Was Deng a “martyr”? Were he and his followers’ actions actually non-violent? Taiwanese independence and democracy activist Nylon Deng (Cheng Nan-jung 鄭南榕) will forever have a place in the pantheon of Taiwanese democracy heroes. But heroes – of course – are human.
Please note that this video does not show all or even most of the events of the day. It's worth watching to give you a general overview, but it doesn't "prove" or "disprove" much. It does show the fire and what is apparently, the moment Deng ignited the cans/jars/container(s) of gasoline.
Read about Deng's magazine partners Chen Shui-bain, and Li Ao. Li Ao would later run for president in the 2000 election against Chen as the New Party candidate. (Li and his running mate, Elmer Fung, got 16,782 votes, representing 0.13% of the total.
Photos and info can be found by visiting the Nylon Deng Foundation website.
The two pics below show the apartment/office as it is today, a museum/memorial hall for Taiwanese independence and democracy activist Nylon Deng (Cheng Nan-jung 鄭南榕). The second picture shows how the room in which he died has been preserved as much as possible, including the burnt window.
Below: Deng's wife, Yeh Chu-lan and his daughter 鄭竹梅 Cheng Chu-mei at his public funeral in May, 1989.
葉菊蘭 Yeh Chu-lan - read about her remarkable life by visiting her Wikipedia page.
Deng stands behind a wall with covers of his magazine.
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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.
