Taiwan to Hold Chiang Funeral Jan. 30; Two Activists Sentenced

The late President Chiang Ching-kuo’s funeral will be held Jan. 30, after a weeklong period during which his body will lie in state at the Martyrs Shrine in Taipei, the government announced Saturday.

While the ruling and opposition parties are united in mourning Chiang, oppositionists who were hoping for a conciliatory gesture in the aftermath of his death were disappointed Saturday when the Taiwan High Court sentenced two prominent political activists to long prison terms for advocating Taiwan independence.

Taiwan’s constitutional system is built on the concept that the government has legitimate authority not only over the island of Taiwan, but also the Chinese mainland from which it was driven by the Communists in 1949. Advocacy of Taiwan independence thus constitutes a fundamental challenge to Nationalist Party rule, as well as an attempt to prevent the ultimate reunification of Taiwan with the rest of China.

Tsai You-chuan, a Presbyterian minister and chairman of the Formosa Political Prisoners Assn., was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment. Hsu Tsao-teh, a member of the association, was sentenced to 10 years.

Theirs was the first sedition case in Taiwan since the government lifted martial law last July. Many restrictions, including a prohibition against advocacy of “division of national territory,” were retained in a new national security law.

Together with the announcement of plans for Chiang’s funeral, a government spokesman said that Veterans General Hospital, where Chiang died Wednesday of a heart attack, will be renamed Ching Kuo Memorial Hospital.

Chiang was succeeded by Lee Teng-hui, 65, the former vice president, who was sworn in as president shortly after Chiang’s death. He is the first native Taiwanese to head the government since the Nationalists fled here from the mainland.

The public can pay their respects to the late president at Martyrs Shrine on Yuan Mountain in the outskirts of Taipei from Jan. 22 through Jan. 28.

On Jan. 30, the funeral procession will proceed from Yuan Mountain to Tahsi township about 20 miles southwest of Taipei, Shao said. The tomb of Chiang’s father, Chiang Kai-shek, is nearby.

Official delegations are expected to attend from countries with which Taiwan has diplomatic ties. Others, such as the United States, which broke diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 when it recognized Beijing, will send unofficial delegations.

Taipei newspapers reported Saturday that former President Gerald R. Ford and former Sen. Paul Laxalt are among those who might be asked to head the American delegation.

Opposition groups--which are composed primarily of native-born Taiwanese rather than people who fled the Chinese mainland 40 years ago--described Saturday’s sentencing of Tsai and Hsu as an action that reflects conservative power within the ruling National Party (Kuomintang). The sentences are likely to increase tensions between the ruling and opposition parties after the end of the 30-day mourning period for Chiang, they said.

Judge Wang Chiang-sen pronounced sentence, but the judiciary in Taiwan is widely believed, at least among critics of the government, to be open to political influence from the government and ruling party.

‘Cast a Dark Shadow’

“I am worried that these politically motivated sentences could cause a deterioration in the situation, because they have cast a dark shadow in all our hearts,” said Chang Chun-hung, a prominent opposition figure and former political prisoner.

“A new atmosphere of harmony was being created,” Chang said. “It is a pity that the Nationalists did not cherish this opportunity, but rather chose to stimulate and challenge us.”

Huang Tsung-wen, special assistant to the opposition Democratic Progressive Party caucus of the Legislative Yuan, said the sentences “show the Nationalist Party’s strong attitude against an independent state.”

“This case is not only punishing Tsai and Hsu, but also it is to establish a political barrier,” Huang said. “It is to give the Democratic Progressive Party a warning: Don’t promote and encourage Taiwan independence.”

Tsai and Hsu were convicted of having organized the Formosa Political Prisoners Assn. and including in its charter a call for Taiwan independence. At their trial, the two men--who both have previously served prison terms on sedition charges--argued that these actions were within their rights of free speech.

As guards led the men from the courtroom, they flashed the V-for-victory sign and shouted: “Taiwan must be independent!” and “The verdict will cause the fall of this nation!”

“Because it is the mourning time for President Chiang, we did not encourage people to demonstrate at the courthouse,” Huang said. “But this case will break the relations--the harmony--between the Democratic Progressive Party and the Nationalist Party.

“We feel it is very heavy. I don’t think they should be sentenced to 10 and 11 years. . . . Both of them are my best friends. Now they will go to jail for a long time,” Huang added.