The year 1979 was the tipping point for the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) one-party state and its dreams for the Republic of China (ROC). Most in the KMT did not see it then and some still do not, yet the KMT must face it, especially as it prepares to choose its next chairperson.
The foreshadowing of 1979 was evident a decade earlier. In 1970, members of World United Formosans for Independence attempted to assassinate then-vice premier Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) in New York City. In 1971, the KMT, as “followers of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石),” were officially “booted out” of the UN with General Assembly Resolution 2758.