Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Democracy pioneer Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) died on Friday last week at the age of 98. Many people have forgotten that Peng, as well as pursuing the independence and democratization of Taiwan, was also an authority on international law. He was a professor in the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University (NTU) from 1957 to 1964, serving as the youngest-ever head of the department from 1961 to 1962.

However, he lost his teaching position for drafting the Declaration of Formosan Self-Salvation. Peng strove for freedom and democracy, but lost his professorship as a result. This was a blatant injustice, and articles that he later submitted to the media expressed his frustration over the matter.

Democracy is in peril due to the rise of authoritarianism, while cooperation among authoritarians has become more menacing.

However, advanced democracies have failed to properly respond to the threat posed by illiberal powers.

A report this year by Washington-based non-profit Freedom House titled The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule sounded a warning.

“Authoritarian regimes have become more effective at coopting or circumventing the norms and institutions meant to support basic liberties,” the report said.