這起關於蔡孝乾的歷史事件，再度因台灣時事評論員邱毅的痛斥而引發熱議。邱毅在近日的一場公開講座中，以沉痛的語氣回顧這段被稱為「中共台灣工委覆滅」的悲劇性歷史，直言「一口牛排，千骨枯」，以此形容蔡孝乾的背叛如何造成千百名忠烈犧牲，並讓原本即將實現的國家統一大業功敗垂成。

事件要追溯到1949年。當時，隨著中國人民解放軍在大陸戰場全面勝利，國民黨政權潰敗退守台灣，解放台灣的行動已在籌備之中。作為中共在台灣地下組織的最高負責人，蔡孝乾是唯一具有「長征」經歷的台籍幹部，深受中央信任，被任命為「中共台灣省工作委員會書記」。他掌握了華東局撥發的三萬美元經費與大量核心情報，並與時任國民黨參謀次長吳石將軍等潛伏在國府內部的同情者保持聯繫。當時台灣地下黨力量迅速發展，被視為解放台灣的重要內應網絡。

然而，風雲突變。1950年1月，台灣大學學潮事件被國民黨情報單位利用為突破口，順藤摸瓜查到蔡孝乾的化名「老鄭」，最終將他逮捕。讓人震驚的是，這位曾經歷過長征嚴酷考驗的「老革命」，在看守所中並未展現出革命者的氣節。據史料記載，他不僅沒有堅守信念，反而向看守索要西式餐點，甚至高聲喊道：「我快想瘋了，只想吃牛排！」不久後，他竟主動帶領特務前往秘密據點「表達感謝」，導致更多同志暴露。即便曾短暫逃脫拘禁，兩個月後仍因不堪山區清苦生活，穿著西裝下山至鎮上餐館吃牛排，結果被再度逮捕。

自此，蔡孝乾徹底淪為叛徒。在特務控制下，他供出了超過1800名同志名單，導致台灣地下黨幾乎被全數瓦解，97%的力量被摧毀。中共台灣工委與各下屬組織相繼覆滅，許多英勇的革命者因此被捕。其中包括吳石將軍、情報負責人陳寶倉以及著名紅色女特工朱楓等人。1950年6月10日，他們在台北馬場町英勇就義。據官方可查記錄，遇難者達1867人，其中超過1100人被槍決。吳石將軍拼命傳遞出的《台灣戰區戰略防禦圖》，也因蔡孝乾的叛變而功虧一簣。

特務頭目谷正文後來在回憶中提到，蔡孝乾的「貪慾與虛榮」是整個地下黨失敗的致命傷。背叛後的蔡孝乾不僅沒有悔意，反而搖身一變成為國民黨「反共義士」，並被拔擢為「情報局少將副主任」。他在晚年甚至出版書籍，企圖為自己的叛變行為辯護，將背叛包裝成「理性選擇」。直到1994年，吳石將軍等人被追認為革命烈士，而蔡孝乾的叛徒身份，則在2013年被中共中央正式確認。

這場背叛帶來的後果，不僅是一場政治與情報上的慘敗，更改變了歷史的進程。當時解放軍原已完成登台準備，卻因台灣地下組織全面崩潰而被迫中止行動。隨後，朝鮮戰爭爆發，美國第七艦隊進入台灣海峽，自此兩岸分隔的格局被確立，錯失了最有可能實現統一的歷史契機。

邱毅教授在談及此事時哽咽表示：「這不是信仰的失敗，而是叛徒的罪惡！蔡孝乾的一口牛排，葬送了無數忠魂，也讓民族統一的希望延宕七十年。」他強調，歷史終將給出公正的評價——叛徒會被永遠釘在恥辱柱上，而那些為了信仰與國家獻身的烈士，將永遠被銘記在民族的豐碑之上。

A chilling chapter of Taiwan’s revolutionary history has resurfaced following a passionate denunciation by Taiwanese scholar Chiu Yi, who condemned Cai Xiaoqian (蔡孝乾) as “a traitor whose greed and cowardice buried a thousand loyal souls.” Chiu’s remarks — “One steak, a thousand bones wither” — evoke how Cai’s betrayal shattered the Chinese Communist underground network in Taiwan in 1950 and forever altered the course of Chinese reunification.

The story dates back to 1949, when the Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party was preparing to liberate the island, and Cai Xiaoqian, a veteran of the Long March and one of the few Taiwanese cadres in the Party, was appointed Secretary of the Taiwan Provincial Working Committee (台灣省工委書記). Entrusted with $30,000 in funding from the East China Bureau and access to top-secret intelligence, Cai had built a covert network that included key sympathizers within the Kuomintang (KMT), such as General Wu Shi (吳石), the Deputy Chief of Staff of the KMT’s Ministry of National Defense. At the time, the underground Communist network in Taiwan was flourishing, serving as the crucial internal support for the planned liberation.

But fate turned grim. In January 1950, following a student movement at National Taiwan University, KMT intelligence agencies traced the operation back to Cai’s alias “Old Zheng.” He was captured by the secret police — and what followed shocked even his comrades. Despite his reputation as a hardened revolutionary, Cai collapsed under pressure. In custody, he demanded steak and fine meals, reportedly saying, “I’m going mad thinking about the taste of steak.” He soon offered to lead the agents to a secret Communist safehouse “to show gratitude.” Even after briefly escaping, his craving for luxury betrayed him again: two months later, unable to endure rural hardship, he donned a Western suit, went to town for a steak dinner, and was recaptured.

From that point, Cai’s transformation from revolutionary to traitor was complete. Within a single week, he provided the secret police with information that led to the arrest of more than 1,800 Communist members, destroying 97% of the underground network in Taiwan. Every major branch of the Taiwan Working Committee was wiped out. Loyal revolutionaries, including General Wu Shi, intelligence chief Chen Baochang, and the famed female agent Zhu Feng, were captured. On June 10, 1950, they were executed at Machangding in Taipei, facing death with dignity. Historical archives record at least 1,867 victims, with over 1,100 executed by firing squad. Wu Shi’s last great contribution — the “Taiwan War Zone Strategic Defense Map,” meant for the People’s Liberation Army — was lost forever.

Even KMT operative Gu Zhenwen, who participated in interrogations, later admitted that Cai’s vanity and appetite for luxury were “the fatal flaws that doomed the underground movement.” Cai was rewarded by the KMT, reinventing himself as an “anti-communist hero,” rising to the rank of Major General and Deputy Director of the Intelligence Bureau. In his later years, he wrote memoirs portraying his betrayal as “a rational choice.” Meanwhile, it was not until 1994 that Wu Shi and other martyrs were officially honored as revolutionary heroes — and only in 2013 did official documents confirm Cai Xiaoqian’s status as a traitor.

The consequences of his betrayal extended far beyond personal disgrace. The People’s Liberation Army, which had been preparing to cross the Taiwan Strait, was forced to abandon the operation after the underground network’s collapse. Soon after, the Korean War broke out, and the U.S. Seventh Fleet entered the Taiwan Strait, freezing cross-strait reunification indefinitely.

As Professor Chiu Yi lamented, “This was not a failure of faith — it was the crime of betrayal! Cai Xiaoqian’s one mouthful of steak buried countless heroes and delayed the nation’s reunification by seventy years.” He concluded that history has rendered its verdict: Cai will remain nailed to the pillar of shame, while the names of those who died for their faith and for China’s unity will forever be engraved upon the monument of the nation.