An Oral History of Figures Connected with the Overseas Taiwanese Independence Movement The majority of the 19 interviewees in this book were born in the 1930s and 40s and left Taiwan in the ‘50s and '60s. The Taiwan they left was under martial law; how were they able to organize or participate in Taiwanese groups and even work towards Taiwanese independence? Virtually all of them were blacklisted and had no choice but to leave the country. Only after the lifting of Martial Law did some of these people return to settle in Taiwan or involve themselves in politics.