When I arrived in Taiwan nearly 43 years ago, the people of island had been living under martial law for nearly 20 years—since 1948. I was warned not to speak too loudly when passing a police station at night or I might be arrested. I remember police bursting into an apartment one Christmas Eve and ordering the small group of Christians to stop singing and dancing and to disperse (we were singing Christmas carols, not dancing). I remember being warned to be very careful what I said when teaching my philosophy classes at Fu Jen University because there was certainly one or two students in the class who would have to report on my classes to government security officials. I remember a young woman, who worked for a government surveillance unit coming to my office one evening for counseling. She burst into tears because she had not produced any “results” in her secret monitoring of letters and telephone calls in her job at Taiwan’s garrison command. She was terrified that she would lose her job if she did not meet her monthly “quota” of incriminating calls and mailings. I could recall and relate many more similar stories, some much more disturbing than the above. Everyone who lived through those days can do the same.

　　I loved Taiwan, its culture and its people dearly from the first day I set foot on the island, especially the warmth, hospitality, and friendship of the people. I must admit, however, that the atmosphere of fear and suspicion under martial law that I experienced for my first 20 years here, was oppressive. Along with many others, I felt that human rights were often disregarded, especially when I discovered that my mail had been read, my telephone calls monitored, my speech and movement restricted, or an acquaintance given a life sentence in prison for a mistake, an imprudent remark, or a trumped up or false accusation.

　　When I was in charge of running Kuangchi Program Service, a Jesuit-run TV Production Center in Taipei, I found this situation especially oppressive and intimidating. A simple mistake—for instance, matching the wrong music with a shot of a Kuomintang official—might result in the forced resignation of the CEO of a TV station and the imprisonment of the technician or producer who made the mistake. Censorship of our TV productions was often severe, unwarranted, and arbitrary, but there was nothing we could do about it.

　　There were heroic individuals and small groups who struggled against the suppression of human rights under martial law and the paranoid reactions of security officials, but they received little sympathy from a government that was deathly afraid of infiltration and attack from the People’s Republic of China just a stone’s throw across the narrow Straits of Taiwan.

　　Then, suddenly, martial law was lifted in 1987 under President Chiang Ching-kuo, and Taiwan began to make rapid progress in reclaiming and protecting the human rights of its people.

　　Recently, Kuangchi Program Service, where I still work, produced a documentary charting the progress of human rights in Taiwan. This gave me an opportunity to reflect on just how much has changed in Taiwan in the short span of forty years.

　　Our documentary is entitled From the Background to the Fore—The Development of Gender Equality in Taiwan 從背景到焦點 - 台灣性別平等發展史. It focuses especially on progress in the area of women’s rights and the rights of weaker social groups over the past 40 years. The documentary was recently awarded a prize at the Houston International Film Festival. More importantly, the film shows how a determined society can break loose from the restraints and fortress mentality of a frightened and embattled political leadership, and benefit from relying instead on the good will, patriotism, and courage of a free and enlightened public.

　　Women have played an important part in Taiwan’s human rights progress. The women’s movement in Taiwan can be traced back 40 years, long before the lifting of martial law. Then, heroic and idealistic women put their freedom and even their lives on the line in order to achieve the equality they were convinced should be theirs. Their efforts were not only successful, but they spearheaded the movements of other minority groups to organize, demand, and take effective measures to recover their rights.

　　In our documentary, we interview several women who spearheaded the women’s movement in Taiwan and are still pushing for full scale gender equality in every aspect of life. In the 43 years that I have lived in Taiwan, I have seen great progress, but I agree with these women that there is still more to be done. Today’s young women can learn a lot from their example of pursuing justice with perseverance, sacrifice, courage and imagination.

　　Early on, women in Taiwan acquired some basic rights, such as the right to vote and the right to education.

　　Later, it became evident that Taiwan had a serious problem with child prostitution and that young girls—many from Taiwan’s indigenous tribes—were being sold into a form of slavery from which they could not escape. This shameful exploitation of the weakest members of society was widely known but ignored. Gradually, human rights activists called the public’s attention to the problem and took steps to have the morally degrading and abusive trafficking of children criminalized. Concrete measures were put in place to protect children’s safety, hot lines were set up, and children most at risk were taught who to notify if they found themselves in danger.

　　More recently, due to Taiwan’s liberal press, reports of domestic violence and sexual harassment began to surface. Many women had felt that this kind of humiliating treatment was simply the normal lot of Taiwanese women and they could do nothing to stop it. But gradually, through education, wives and working women learned that they were not obliged to put up with this infringement of their personal rights and dignity. Campaigns raised awareness and legal systems were put in place to protect women from abusive treatment by their spouses, employers, co-workers, and others.

　　Even now, women are still striving to realize their right to be paid the same as their male co-workers for similar jobs and services, and to be guaranteed completely equal treatment at the job site. Taiwan is on track to continue its steady progress in this area.

　　Because of its success in achieving women's rights, more attention has been given the rights of minority groups such as indigenous peoples, the gay community, foreign workers, and other minority groups. It is becoming clear that Taiwan is committed to a democratic way of life and will not accept a system that does not guarantee full equality for all its people. This has now become one of Taiwan’s most admirable and attractive features.

　　Taiwan’s rapid and sometimes dramatic progress in human rights is one of the achievements that the Taiwanese people can be most proud of. Even more, it should be a sign of hope to other countries in the Asia Pacific region, some of which do not yet enjoy the degree of equality and justice we see in Taiwan.

　　Although no country is absolutely perfect in insuring complete justice and equality to each and every one of its citizens, I believe that Taiwan has progressed to the point where it can be both a beacon of hope and a helpful resource for many of its Asian neighbors.

　　I believe that Taiwan can become an effective agent of change and can help raise awareness of the dignity and equality that is the right of every human being on this planet. By offering its experience, expertise and resources to its neighboring countries, Taiwan can actively promote a growing culture of human rights throughout the Asian region.

　　I have full confidence that Taiwan will do just that!