Taiwan Says It Will End 37 Years of Martial Law

The government said Wednesday that it will lift martial law for the first time since Chiang Kai-shek’s forces retreated to Taiwan from mainland China in 1949, replacing it with less restrictive security rules.

A statement from the ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) said its 31-member Central Standing Committee approved the new regulations at its regular weekly meeting.

It did not say when martial law will be lifted, explaining that time is needed “to legislate and review the regulations.”

In charge of the meeting was President Chiang Ching-kuo, 76, who is Chiang Kai-shek’s son and chairman of the party that has dominated Taiwan politics since the Nationalists were driven to the island by Mao Tse-tung’s victorious Communist forces.

The Nationalists imposed martial law soon after their arrival and have continued it on grounds that it was needed to maintain stability and frustrate Communist attempts at disruption.

Now Stable and Secure

According to the statement, the party has decided to replace martial law because Taiwan now is stable, secure and prosperous.

The announcement said the party will work through Parliament, where it holds a more than 80% majority, to “remove these restrictive measures after a new national security law is enacted.”

The announcement did not say what the projected new law will contain. Sources within the party said it would be designed to fight Communist infiltration and sabotage but would not jeopardize the party’s determination to move toward democracy.

The sources said the military would lose its authority to ban or seize publications for carrying material it deems harmful to the nation. But they said it has not been decided whether to retain restrictions on new newspapers and military control on the issuance of entry and exit permits.

Would Permit Rival Parties

The announcement said the recommendations would permit formation of political parties and do away with military trials of civilians accused of sedition and security violations.

New political parties must be anti-Communist, renounce violence and support the reunification of Taiwan and China, the statement said. The last requirement would discourage any movement toward an independent nation by native Taiwanese, who make up 85% of the island’s 19 million people.

In Washington, the Reagan Administration welcomed the announcement.