Lei Zhen Papers Acquired by Hoover Archives

October 25, 2007

The personal papers of Lei Zhen (1897–1979) Click on the image to start the slideshow. Once the slideshow has begun, mouse over the right/left side of image to see the next/previous buttons

Page one from the first chapter of the unpublished manuscript The Black Book of Forming a New Party (Lei Zhen Huiyi Lu Zhi Xin Dang Yundong Hei Pi Shu). Lei Zhen memoirs, Hoover Institution Archives

Letter address to Lei's youngest daughter, Lei Meimei, 1965 April 17. Lei Zhen memoirs, Hoover Institution Archives

Letter addressed to Lei's youngest son, Lei Tianhong. Lei Zhen memoirs, Hoover Institution Archives

While in prison, Lei Zhen dreamt of Hu Shi's piece on ‘Tolerance and Freedom,’ which inspired him to compose this poem. Lei Zhen memoirs, Hoover Institution Archives

The personal papers of Lei Zhen (1897–1979), human rights activist, liberal thinker, and vigorous political opponent of Chiang Kai-shek and Kuomintang rule in post-1949 Taiwan, were recently acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives. As a leading figure in the early pro-democracy movement in Taiwan, Lei Zhen launched the Free China Journal in 1950. Due to the journal's pro-democracy stance and criticism of Chiang Kai-shek, Lei was arrested for treason on September 4, 1960, and sentenced to ten years in prison. The magazine was subsequently shut down.

While in prison, Lei wrote a four million character memoir chronicling his life and thoughts on democracy. However, the memoir and most government records regarding the controversial ‘Lei Zhen Incident’ have either disappeared or been destroyed.

Included in the Lei Zhen papers at the Hoover Archives is a draft of his manuscript, The Black Book of Forming a New Party (Lei Zhen Huiyi Lu Zhi Xin Dang Yundong Hei Pi Shu), which describes Lei's vision for Taiwan's democratization process and prospects. Portions of this memoir were published in 2003. The collection also includes unpublished material concerning his daily life in prison, and letters to his children and other family members that offer an intimate glimpse of Lei as father, husband, and friend.