李登輝與我【修正版】

In remembrance of Lee Teng-hui

人生總有終點。雙方交情曾有起落。惟他去世,給我衝擊,使我悲傷。兩人間種種,回憶湧出,感慨萬千,將一部分,記述於此。

他出生早於我數個月,戰時日本他念京都帝國大學,中途被迫改名服兵役。我念東京帝國大學,中途為了逃避兵役,各所躲藏,終被美軍軍機掃射失去左臂。互相不認識,連名字都未聽過。

戰前台北帝國大學,戰後改名國立台灣大學。台籍學生在日本的「帝國大學」肄業者,無條件轉學台大補學分畢業。人數不多有機會互動,有緣與他(農經)、A君(經濟)三人成密友,常一起吃飯雜聊國事,我談台獨,他大罵糧食局長李連春以「肥料換穀」政策,剝削農民太甚,但似對一般政治較無興趣。台大畢業後,他入農復會,我留校擔任助教,我出國留學,數年後他亦出國留學,回台後我任系主任,他為農復會技正,三個好友還是常聚餐。我因「台灣人民自救宣言」被捕前夜,我們還在A君家吃飯,他們兩人不知道我與謝聰敏、魏廷朝的陰謀,不久A君出國失聯,我入獄十三個月,被特赦,終身軟禁,五年後脫出台灣,流亡外國被通緝二十三年,我們在美國為台灣民主所作所為,他似無好感。他夫妻逢人就說「彭明敏都無進步」,我曾託人問他們我在哪方面無進步,他們就不再說了。

一九八○年後期,台灣開始民主化,當局對我的觀感也較軟化,甚至美國的國民黨系團體也曾邀我去演講,連戰及一些高官也在場。連戰因台灣發生水災,提前回台。

一九九○年他舉辦「國是會議」,公言我是愛國者,正式邀我參加,動員國民黨政府幾乎所有的在美機關,包含駐美代表,勸我回台參加,我要求撤銷通緝令,否則不參加(「你請我吃飯,卻在門口放一隻獰猛狼狗要咬我,我怎麼去」),他很不高興,因曾排除國民黨高層李煥等的反對,好不容易堅持邀請我,我卻拒絕,使他無面子。

他任總統是因蔣經國去世,作為副總統補上的。任滿後,還要正式選舉。我在紐約召開記者會,公開支持他。我雖然反對國民黨,但鑒於台灣現實,由他連任,政局才會安定。因此受到台獨聯盟無情的攻擊。李當選後,他們都成為其最熱心的奉承者。他連任後,曾託人交一封信給他(不知道為什麼,此信全文曾在台北雜誌登載),信中建議(一)總統府太森嚴神秘,令人畏懼,總統親民,總統府應自由開放,任人參觀,最好每週舉辦音樂會,人民參加可唱流行歌曲。(二)政府文告要平易口語化,用庶民的語言。

最後通緝令撤銷,給我護照。我決定於一九九二年末回國。曾請吳澧培先回國,與各方接觸。吳與他會面,他相當冷淡,似有點困惑,說「他回來,要給他什麼工作,中央研究院院長嗎?」我終於回國,際遇立法委員選舉,歡迎群眾幾乎擠破機場,我下飛機也被擠得兩腳無法落地,官員怕「台獨」,大多不敢接近,只有立委候選人爭先恐後,要我站台助選。

回台後半年,被二十四小時監視跟蹤,不准上電視,任何一方都未曾來見。今昔不同,已不是單純的「同學」。一實為現任總統,一為前被追捕犯,如可見面,要談什麼。有一天他終於託人來說要我去他家裡,要我先到「中華文化發展委員會(會長黃石城)」躲藏,到了晚上八點以後他會派車接我,車窗要黑布遮起來,從外面看不到裡面,我聽了極不高興,見他要這樣偷偷摸摸,太無尊嚴,拒絕前往。此事耿耿於懷,曾告訴張榮發,他笑著說「我去看他也是一樣」。

一九九六年台灣首次總統直選,我也登記參選,報名保證金一千五百萬台幣,這對我是天文數字,一輩子也未曾看到那麼多錢(告訴訪台的捷克議員,他們驚倒了)。不得不從辜寬敏、林敏生、林誠一各借五百萬,這是我一生首次而唯一借錢的經驗。電視舉辦候選人政見發表會,出場前在舞台後面與他碰面,兩人默默握手,幾近陌生人,這是我回國第一次看到他。在競選中,我們不作人身攻擊,我攻擊國民黨數十年的暴政,他反對台獨,媒體認為沒有火花,淡如水,不過癮而失望。競選準備當中,有一個有趣的插曲,經由一好友,傳來神秘的提議,說若我退選,可給五億台幣的代價,我開玩笑地試探「十億怎樣?」神秘方面說「先拿五億退選,另五億以後再商量。」這可能是國民黨做事的典型。

幾年後輪到連戰競選總統,彭榮次陪我到他家裡,以後就有時到他家聊天。有一次連戰也來,他記得其結婚典禮,我擔任介紹人,相當親切客氣說要聘我為資政,李說選後再說。連戰在台大時我是指導教授,很愛護他,他到芝加哥大學進修,我每到美國,都專程到芝加哥去看他。陳水扁當選後,國民黨鬧罷免,政局混亂,一個晚上陳總統來電,看我能否去請連戰調解,我即請我親戚也是連戰親信楊寶發,問他能否與我密會,連戰說他二十四小時周圍都有人,無法密會,此事就作罷。

他作為總統經常到各地考察研究,連各地的地質農產也都很清楚,他不是才華橫溢,才氣煥發型,而是默默耕耘,耐性堅實,持久做事,實為一位好總統。

連戰競選總統時,投票前幾天,我告訴他連戰必敗,要他做心理準備。他反駁,各管道的報告,都說連戰必勝(可見官僚報喜不報憂)。我寫信給他,「連戰落選後,黨內一定有許多人要你辭職,但為政局安定,切勿辭職,要堅持下去」。果然連戰落選,國民黨煽動群眾,包圍其官邸,叫囂他辭職,他終於受不了,狼狽辭職,退出國民黨,很冤枉。

14年前政黨輪替,國民黨失去了50年的政權,民眾聚集抗議,馬英九率先喊出「要李下台」。(圖擷取自三立)

政黨輪替,國民黨失去了50年的政權,民眾聚集抗議,馬英九率先喊出「要李下台」。(圖擷取自三立)

 

一天他接受報社訪問,談到台獨,所說完全錯誤,我忍不住也在報上為文強烈批判。他很生氣,其後若有人對他提起我,他就發脾氣。數年彼此忌避。

我常說,有兩個互相矛盾的身分在李登輝的身上結合在一起。一是作為台灣人的李登輝,另一是作為中國國民黨主席的李登輝,前者要保護和伸張台灣人的政治權利即民主化,後者則為了「統一」中國,一些基本人權必須犧牲,他在此兩種立場上掙扎,天人交戰。

二○一七年「喜樂島聯盟」在高雄成立,我倆都被邀參加,在舞台二樓休息時,他也進來,二人若無其事雜聊一下,這是最後看到他。

在台灣各方,經濟、政治、文化、社會的轉換時期,他站在過程中關鍵時點,主政成功,有形無形功勞甚大,相信在台灣歷史上,必將永久佔有偉大地位。

 

 

Tue, Aug 04, 2020

In remembrance of Lee Teng-hui

  • By Peng Ming-min 彭明敏

 

All lives eventually come to an end. Over the years, my friendship with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had its ups and downs. Lee’s passing was a heavy blow and has left me deeply saddened. We experienced a lot together and the memories have come flooding back.

Lee was born several months earlier than me. During World War II, he was studying at Kyoto Imperial University, but halfway through his studies, he was forced to change his name and enter military service. I was studying at Tokyo Imperial University, but went into hiding to avoid military service, and I was later strafed by a US military aircraft and lost my left arm. At the time we did not know each other and had not even heard of each other.

After the war, Taipei Imperial University was renamed National Taiwan University (NTU). Taiwanese students who had had their studies at Japan’s imperial universities cut short due to the war were granted an unconditional transfer to complete their degrees at NTU. There were relatively few students at the university, so we all got to know one another.

Lee, who was studying agricultural science, another student called Mr A (A君) who was studying economics, and I formed a close bond. We would often eat together and chat about national affairs. Once, when I raised the subject of Taiwanese independence, Lee lambasted then-Taiwan Provincial Government Grain Bureau director Lee Lien-chun’s (李連春) policy of exchanging fertilizer for grain for its “gross exploitation of Taiwanese farmers.”

However, he seemed uninterested in general politics.

After graduating, Lee joined the US-sponsored Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction. I stayed at NTU to work as a teaching assistant before leaving to study overseas. A few years later, Lee also left Taiwan for overseas studies. On returning to Taiwan, I was appointed head of the NTU political science department, while Lee returned to the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction.

The three of us often met to have dinner together. The night before I was arrested for publishing the Declaration of Self-Salvation of the Taiwanese People (台灣人民自救宣言), Lee and I had dinner at Mr A’s house. Neither Lee nor Mr A had an inkling of the plan I had set in motion with my co-conspirators, Hsieh Tsung-min (謝聰敏) and Wei Ting-chao (魏廷朝). Not long after, Mr A left Taiwan and we fell out of touch.

After a 13-month stint behind bars I was granted amnesty and placed under lifelong house arrest. Five years later I fled Taiwan for a life in exile. For the next 23 years I had an arrest warrant hanging over me.

While in exile in the US, I fought together with my Taiwanese comrades to bring democracy to Taiwan. Lee seemed to disapprove of my activities. I learned that he and his wife said to others: “Peng has not progressed at all.”

I once asked them, through an intermediary: “In what respect have I made no progress?”

After that, they stopped saying it.

By the late 1980s, Taiwan’s democratization had begun and the authorities’ perception of me softened. A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) US group even invited me to deliver a speech. Lien Chan (連戰), who later became vice president, and other high-level party officials attended the event, although Lien was forced to return to Taiwan early due to serious flooding.

In 1990, Lee announced a national affairs conference on political reform. He also publicly stated that I was a patriot and invited me to attend, and welcomed me to return to Taiwan.

I told him that I would attend, but only if my arrest warrant was revoked, saying: “You invited me for dinner, yet there is a fierce wolfhound at the door that will take a bite out of me. How can I go?”

He was very upset, because he had overcome opposition from former premier Lee Huan (李煥) and other party hardliners to issue the invitation. When I refused to attend, he lost face.

As vice president, Lee Teng-hui succeeded president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) upon his death in January 1988.

After completing his first full term in office, he ran in the nation’s first direct presidential election. I lent him my support at a news conference in New York. Although I opposed the KMT, I felt that Lee Teng-hui had to serve a second term to stabilize the political situation, earning me ruthless attacks from the World United Formosans for Independence.

After Lee Teng-hui won, I sent him a letter through an intermediary, the full text of which somehow found its way into the Taipei Magazine. In the letter, I suggested two things:

First, that the Presidential Office was too rigid and secretive, and continued to instill fear in people’s hearts. The president should be in touch with the public, and the Presidential Office should be a free and open place that anyone could visit, holding weekly concerts of popular music.

Second, government announcements should abandon formal, courtly prose in favor of plain, simple language, so that everyone could understand them.

Eventually my arrest warrant was revoked and I was given a Republic of China passport, and in 1992, I returned to Taiwan. I asked Wu Li-pei (吳澧培), later presidential adviser to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), to return to Taiwan before me to make contact with different parties.

Wu met with Lee Teng-hui, who — reportedly rather cold and somewhat bemused — asked Wu: “When he returns, what job should I give him? The Academia Sinica presidency?”

When I finally returned to Taiwan, at the time of the legislative elections, the airport was packed with people welcoming me. The crowd that surrounded the plane initially made it impossible to put two feet on Taiwanese soil.

Government officials were afraid of Taiwanese independence and most did not dare approach me. Legislative candidates, on the other hand, scrambled to ask me to campaign for them.

During the first six months after my return, I was under 24-hour surveillance and was followed everywhere I went. I was barred from appearing on television and there was no contact with Lee Teng-hui. It was all very strange.

Finally, one day he sent a messenger with an invitation to visit him at his home. I was told to first go to the Chinese Culture Development Commission and hide there. At 8pm he would send a car with black material obscuring the windows so nobody would be able to see inside.

After being told of these details, I was extremely displeased. I thought it was disrespectful, and refused to go. I continued to brood about the matter.

Later on, I related the strange invitation to Evergreen Group founder Chang Yung-fa (張榮發), who laughed and said: “When I go to see him it is just the same.”

In 1996, I registered as a candidate in Taiwan’s first direct presidential election. The registration deposit was NT$15 million (US$507,941 at the current exchange rate), an astronomical sum to me; I had never seen so much money in my life.

I had to borrow NT$5 million each from fellow independence advocates Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏), Lin Min-sheng (林敏生) and Lin Cheng-yi (林誠一), the first and only time in my life that I had borrowed money.

A political debate between the candidates was broadcast on television. I bumped into Lee Teng-hui backstage before the event. We shook hands almost as if we were strangers. It was the first time we had met since I returned to Taiwan.

During the preparations for the election campaign, an interesting episode took place. A mysterious proposal came via a close friend, offering me NT$500 million if I agreed to stand down.

I jokingly responded: “How about NT$1 billion?” The reply came back: “NT$500 million for withdrawing from the election and then we can discuss the other NT$500 million later.” Perhaps this was the KMT’s modus operandi.

A few years later, when it was Lien Chan’s turn to run for president, Taiwan Transportation Machinery Corp president Peng Run-tzu (彭榮次) accompanied me on a visit to Lee Teng-hui’s house. After that, I would occasionally call on Lee Teng-hui for a chat.

One time, Lien was also there. Remembering that I served as the matchmaker at his wedding, Lien kindly invited me to serve as senior presidential adviser, but Lee Teng-hui said the matter should be discussed after the election.

During Lien’s studies in NTU’s political science department, I was his adviser and was supportive of him. During his graduate studies in the University of Chicago, I visited him there every time I traveled to the US. After Chen won the 2000 election, political chaos followed and the KMT tried to recall him.

One night he called me and asked if I could ask Lien to smooth things over. I reached out to former deputy interior minister Yang Pao-fa (楊寶發), who was my relative and Lien’s trusted aide, to forward the message, asking if we could meet secretly. Lien said he was surrounded by people around the clock, so there was no chance to meet secretly.

As president, Lee Teng-hui often traveled around for studies and inspections, and he even knew different soil types and agricultural products across Taiwan. He was never a person brimming with talent, so instead he worked hard, patiently, persistently and constantly. He was indeed a good president.

A few days before the 2000 presidential election, I told Lee Teng-hui that Lien was certain to lose and that he should be prepared. Lee Teng-hui disagreed, saying that every report showed Lien would win.

In hindsight, the incident shows that bureaucrats only report good news and conceal the rest. I wrote to Lee Teng-hui, saying that “after Lien is defeated, many KMT members will urge you to resign, but to maintain political stability, you must persevere and not step down.”

When Lien lost the election, the KMT stirred up public anger and led crowds to encircle Lee Teng-hui’s residence, calling on him to resign. Lee Teng-hui was unable to resist the pressure and announced his resignation and left the party. This was unfair.

Once Lee Teng-hui had an interview with a newspaper, but everything he said about Taiwanese independence was completely wrong, so I had to write an opinion piece strongly criticizing him. He was enraged. After that, he would get upset whenever someone mentioned me, and we avoided each other for years.

Lee Teng-hui harbored two contradictory identities: one was Lee Teng-hui as Taiwanese, the other was Lee Teng-hui as KMT chairman. As a Taiwanese, he wanted to safeguard and enhance Taiwanese’s political rights and push for democratization. As KMT chairman, he had to sacrifice certain basic human rights for the sake of unification. He was constantly struggling with this dilemma.

When the Formosa Alliance was established in Kaohsiung in 2017, we were both invited to the opening ceremony. When I was taking a rest, Lee Teng-hui came into the same room. We chatted for a while as if nothing had ever happened between us, and that was the last time I saw him.

Lee Teng-hui played a crucial role at a crucial time in Taiwan’s economic, political, cultural and social transition. He led a successful administration, and made tremendous contributions, both tangible and intangible. Lee Teng-hui will forever be remembered as a great man in the history of Taiwan.

Peng Ming-min is a former Presidential Office adviser.

Translated by Edward Jones and Chang Ho-ming

 

資料來源:https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2020/08/04/2003741078

 

 

1990年4月4日彭明敏寫給李登輝的信

登輝兄:

你好。首先恭喜你當選。你實在是辛苦了。其他客套的話,請許暫省。下面把一些想法直率地寫出,望你見諒。相信這些話也是海外同鄉絕對多數的心聲。

一、台灣已處於史上未有的社會,政治命運的大轉換期,你又是一位有遠見、有理想、有歷史觀、國際觀、哲學觀、宗教觀的人,我們決定公開支持你在這台灣歷史最緊要關頭來領導台灣,其理由在此。不論對於台灣人民或你個人,這是千載一遇的機會,你的責任也太大了。

二、你作事必會受到小人瑣事及保守反動自私貪慾者所困擾和阻礙,衷心希望你切勿忘記你所擔起的歷史使命,你的作為不但攸關台灣和台灣人民的遠久命運,也會為你個人在台灣歷史上定位,幫你不斷從這歷史觀點待人處事。

三、台灣人民,包括海外同鄉,對你的期望實在太高,這恐怕有時對你反而構成相當的負擔。但請勿忘記,人民對你的肯定和支持是你最大的(而現今是唯一的)政治資產,你應該以此為後盾積極大膽去推行改革。我們建議你於就任新職時,將你在任期內要達成的改革目標,明確具體地一一列舉出來,並設定其實現的時間表(例如:國會全面改選、總統直接民選、省長直轄市長民選、釋放政治犯及其復權)。同時宣佈你決心排除萬難,不惜任何犧牲(包括辭職),為推行此改革而奮鬥。其後,若阻力太大,可以(仿美國或蘇聯總統)用電視等大眾媒體,直接訴請大眾輿論,要求人民支持,藉此削減你周圍的保守反動勢力。(如這次學生示威,對於國大反動力量構成極大壓力,對你是有利的)。今後應多運用這種民間力量,切勿給人一種印象以為你為了保持職位,放棄原則和改革理想,事事與保守反動勢力妥協。(真正無法推行改革時寧可玉碎不求瓦全,為你在歷史上的定位,也是重要的)。

四、五月新就任時的文告,應將上述改革目標及時間表發佈,具體明確的說出來。為了要使人民有面目一新的感覺,此重要文告請勿再請那些「職業文宣」人員撰寫。應儘量在外面找一些學界人士,以平易白話,作真正有力而Fresh的文章(如美國田弘茂、張旭成、高英茂等教授應可與商量)。

五、你新就任時,最重要的,是要給人民有「新的時代開始了」的強烈感覺。為此須有一些 Dramatic 的作為,例如在文告中總統公佈私人財產,並要求內閣人員及高級政要自動公佈私有財產(此不必通過法律,應自願方式為之),以及其他一些富有想像力,打動民心的事情。

六、就職以後,最好每月一、二次在總統府舉行文化晚會(如美國總統所作)邀請音樂家、作家、詩人、畫家等表演或演講,聽眾盡量減少那些老面孔政要,多請真正老百姓及學生(可從電話簿或街上隨便找),這可以表示你親民也注重文化活動。

七、不必太強調「基督徒信仰」,以免引起反感。台灣究竟非基督教國,而蔣介石、宋美齡等也自稱基督教徒,對基督教的形象也破壞不少。

八、絕對多數人民都信任你、尊重你、支持你,但你卻由聲名狼藉極端腐敗違悖民意的老國代選出,這對你的Political and moral authority損害極大,為了要建立起你的Political and moral legitimacy,你就職以後儘快(一、二年之內)想出辦法,使人民有機會直接表達對你的支持,以確認你地位的合法性Legitimacy,這可以增強你的權威和力量,也可作將來總統直接民選的先驅。

1990.4.4

 

2000年總統大選前彭明敏致函李登輝

2000年3月15日

 
一、選戰劇烈,結果如何無法預測。

二、連戰勢面,不能樂觀。其原因除其個人因素以外,因為主持選務,尤其文宣者,似都屬於反李、反本土、非主流的大中國主義者,故其文宣內容幾乎與李敖之流的觀念相同,都是反李、反本土、反台灣人,不但沒有絲毫本土氣味,更無台灣意識,都是反李、反台灣人、反本土、親外省人、親中共的,尤其對「台獨」的攻擊過分惡毒,跡近歇斯底里,與中共文宣無異,普遍引起有台灣本土意識者的反感。可謂連戰已經失去台灣庶民的支持,他似乎已不把台灣多數人放在眼中,專心討好外省人、中共和大企業家。他似乎忘記選民多數是台籍,相當有本土意識,若果失去他們的支持,無法當選的。說這些話已經太晚,但還是要說,讓先生知道。

三、選舉結果既然難以預料,請先生預作應變的各種準備(心理上及實務上的)。尤其最壞情形發生時,如何應付,必須預作萬全準備。

四、萬一宋當選,國民黨內將出現何種局面,因本人不諳黨內情形,無法置喙。

五、萬一陳水扁當選,他仍會非常尊重先生(可能比當選後的連戰,更會尊重先生),陳水扁不會造成先生難堪的局面,但反李及非主流所控制的大媒體一定會對先生大肆攻擊,毀謗、中傷、抹黑、污辱無不用其極,這種言論可能充斥一時,他們必會製造「輿論」,一致要求先生辭去黨主席職務。

六、為了台灣的將來、民主的前途、社會的安定,請求先生千萬要堅定忍辱,絕不應氣餒,絕不應辭去主席職務。立法院還是國民黨多數,先生必須掌握這股力量繼續主導國防外交等要務,否則過去先生辛辛苦苦建立的民主成果,對中共侵略的提防以及本土化的一切努力將崩潰於一時,台灣人命運悲慘矣。

七、最壞情形萬一發生,我們會全力呼籲所有台灣人,包括陳水扁及民進黨內有心者,結集力量支持先生繼續成為台灣社會安定、抵抗中共、推行民主的中心力量(尤其黨產妥善處理以後,可以認真考慮台灣政黨重新洗牌的問題)。

八、請先生預做準備,如何應付最壞情形的發生(包括文告聲明等)。

 

 

< 資料來源:《自由時報》〈自由廣場〉引用網址 >
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作者 彭明敏

彭明敏
建國會會長

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