Isle of Time
Dawn of Democracy: From the Dangwai Movement to the First Direct Presidential Election

Breaking the Silence

10 Volumes

Vol. 1

The Dangwai Movement

Under one-party authoritarian rule, a group of courageous Taiwanese chose to seek political particip...

Vol. 2

The Kaohsiung Incident

On December 10, 1979 — International Human Rights Day — Formosa Magazine organized a massive public ...

Vol. 4

The Lin Family Massacre

On February 28, 1980 — the thirty-third anniversary of the 228 Incident — the late-winter chill stil...

Vol. 6

The Chen Wen-cheng Incident

At dawn on July 3, 1981, the cicadas had not yet begun their song on the campus of National Taiwan U...

Vol. 8

Birth of the Opposition

On the morning of September 28, 1986, one hundred and thirty-five Dangwai activists gathered under t...

Vol. 9

Lifting Martial Law

On July 15, 1987, President Chiang Ching-kuo announced the lifting of Taiwan's thirty-eight-year mar...

Vol. 10

A Hundred Flowers Bloom

Around the time of martial law's lifting, long-suppressed social energy erupted like a volcano. Labo...

Vol. 11

A Hundred Percent Freedom

At dawn on April 7, 1989, in the offices of Freedom Era Weekly on Minquan East Road in Taipei, a fir...

Vol. 13

Lilies in the Square

In March 1990, the chill of early spring had not yet fully faded from Taipei, yet on the broad plaza...

Vol. 15

The People Choose

On March 23, 1996, the skies over Taiwan were charged with an unprecedented tension and exhilaration...