On May 19, 1949, Chen Cheng, the Taiwan provincial governor and director general of Taiwan Garrison Command, declared martial law, which went into effect the next day. Martial law infringed upon human rights and impeded the development of constitutional democracy. In step with Taiwan’s economic and social development and growing understanding about human rights, and in order to promote democratic constitutional reform, on July 14, 1987, the late president Chiang Ching-kuo gave an order to end the state of martial law, which went into effect the next day. The formal lifting of martial law also represented a step forward in Taiwan’s evolution toward democracy. 2007 is the 20th anniversary of the lifting of martial law. To commemorate this event, this post is issuing a commemorative stamp featuring the lifting of restrictions on newspapers, political parties and freedom of speech. The stamp will have a denomination of NT$12.