Kaohsiung Incident
Encyclopedia
The Kaohsiung Incident also known as the Formosa Incident, the Meilidao Incident or the Formosa Magazine incident was the result of pro-democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
that occurred in Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
on December 10, 1979.
The incident occurred when Formosa Magazine
Formosa Magazine
Formosa Magazine was a magazine created by Tangwai individuals in Taiwan during the summer of 1979. It opposed the Kuomintang's political monopoly in the Republic of China government...
, headed by veteran opposition Legislative Yuan
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China .The Legislative Yuan is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which follows Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People...
Legislator Huang Shin-chieh
Huang Shin-chieh
Huang Shin-chieh , was a Taiwanese politician. He was the third chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party ....
(黃信介), and other opposition politicians held a demonstration commemorating Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.The date was chosen to honor the United NationsGeneral Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first global enunciation of human rights...
in an effort to promote and demand democracy in Taiwan. At that time, the Republic of China was a one-party state and the government used this protest as an excuse to arrest the main leaders of the political opposition. The event however had the effect of galvanizing the Taiwanese community into political actions. Today, it is regarded as one of the events that eventually led to democracy in Taiwan.
Background
In 1975, a magazine entitled the Taiwan Political Review (臺灣政論) was first published. In its 5th edition it published an article on December 27, 1976 titled “Two States of Mind—An Evening Discussion with Fou Cong and Professor Liou” which resulted in the revocation of the publisher’s license. December 25, 1979 Huang Hsin-chieh recommended during a press conference the creation of a group to promote "democratic activities" consisting of Hsu Hsin-liangHsu Hsin-liang
Hsu Hsin-liang is a Taiwanese politician, formerly Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party . He was a supporter of the Pan-Blue Coalition from 2000 to 2008 but then supported the DPP in the 2008 presidential election.-Biography:...
(許信良), Chang Chun-hung (張俊宏), Yao Chia-wen
Yao Chia-wen
Yao Chia-wen , a Taiwanese politician, is a former President of the Examination Yuan of the government of the Republic of China . He was the second chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party .- Early life :...
(姚嘉文), Lin Yi-hsiung
Lin Yi-hsiung
Lin Yi-hsiung who sued the ruling KMT party for electoral fraud. Lin was elected a member of Taiwan Provincial Assembly in Guo's old electorate in 1977.-Lin Family Massacre:...
(林義雄), and Shih Ming-teh
Shih Ming-teh
Shih Ming-te or Shih Ming-teh was a political prisoner for 25-and-a-half years in the Republic of China .He was arrested at the age of 21 in 1962 and charged with creating the "Taiwan Independence League" with the intention of overthrowing the Kuomintang government, Shih was sentenced to life...
(施明德). On August 16, 1979, the 1st edition was published under the title "Joint Promotion of the New Generation’s Political Movements". The initial issue sold out all of its 25,000 copies, the 2nd and 3rd issues sold almost 100,000 copies, and the 4th issue sold more than 110,000. On October 17, 1979, a meeting of 22 Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
security agencies adopted a proposal to ban the magazine after a protest from the Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n Embassy protested over an article in the 2nd issue titled "Unveil the Myth of the Korean Economic Miracle" (揭發韓國經濟奇蹟的神話).
The magazine's Kaohsiung service center applied for a permit to hold a human rights seminar on December 10 at an indoor stadium, and after that was denied applied for a permit to hold the event at the Fu Lun Park (扶輪公園), which was also denied. In response, it was decided to hold the demonstration at the Kaohsiung headquarters.
Incident
The event on December 10, 1979 started out as the first major Human Rights DayHuman Rights Day
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.The date was chosen to honor the United NationsGeneral Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first global enunciation of human rights...
celebration on the island. Until that time the authorities had never allowed any public expression of discontent.
Between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon of December 10, 1979 (four hours before the demonstration commemorating Human Rights Day started, and before any irregularities had taken place), the military police, the army and the police had already taken up positions when the demonstrators arrived.
When the event took place during the evening, the military police marched forward and closed in on the demonstrators, then they retreated again to their original position. This was repeated two or more times. The battalion commander explained that the purpose of this exercise was to cause panic and fear in the crowd and also to provoke anger and confusion. Political demonstrators clashed with troops sent by the KMT.
Arrests and imprisonment
The KMT authorities used the incident as an excuse to arrest virtually all well-known opposition leaders. They were held incommunicado for some two months, during which reports of severe ill-treatment filtered out of the prisons. The arrested groups were subsequently tried in three separate groups.Lin family massacre
In February 1980 Lin Yi-hsiungLin Yi-hsiung
Lin Yi-hsiung who sued the ruling KMT party for electoral fraud. Lin was elected a member of Taiwan Provincial Assembly in Guo's old electorate in 1977.-Lin Family Massacre:...
, a leader of the democratic movement, was in detention and beaten severely by KMT police. His mother saw him in prison and contacted the Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
office. The next day Lin's mother and twin 7-year-old daughters were stabbed to death. Lin's older daughter was badly wounded in his home. The authorities claimed to know nothing about it, even though his house was under 24-hour police surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
.
Major groups
In March/April 1980, the eight most prominent leaders "The Kaohsiung Eight" were tried in military court and were sentenced to terms ranging from 12 years to life imprisonment. The trial was also publicized.In April/May 1980, another group of 33 people, "The Kaohsiung 33", who had taken part in the Human Rights Day gathering were tried in civil court and sentenced to terms ranging from 2 to 6 years.
Others
A third group of 10 people were associated with the Presbyterian Church for hiding Shih Ming-tehShih Ming-teh
Shih Ming-te or Shih Ming-teh was a political prisoner for 25-and-a-half years in the Republic of China .He was arrested at the age of 21 in 1962 and charged with creating the "Taiwan Independence League" with the intention of overthrowing the Kuomintang government, Shih was sentenced to life...
, who feared torture and immediate execution. Most prominent among this group was Kao Chun-ming, the general-secretary of the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Kao was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. The others received lesser sentences. Shih got life sentencing, and his wife Linda Gail Arrigo
Linda Arrigo
Linda Gail Arrigo is an American–Taiwanese political activist, human rights activist, and academic researcher. She has been the international affairs officer of Green Party Taiwan.-Biography:...
, a United States citizen was deported.
15 of Taiwan's most important political leaders, a group of writers and intellectuals, associated with the Formosa magazine were arrested. Fifteen publications were closed down, including Meilidao/Formosa magazine. After the event, newspapers reported that the ensuing confrontations led to civilian and police injuries.
After the incident, four Tangwai
Tangwai
The Tangwai movement was a political movement in the Republic of China in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Although the Kuomintang had allowed contested elections for a small number of seats in Legislative Yuan, opposition parties were still forbidden...
participants were arrested and imprisoned on trumped-up charges of sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
, including Huang Hsin-chieh, Yao Chia-wen, Chang Chun-hung and Lin Hung-hsuan.
Legacy
The time period experienced a rising middle class, and a more open-minded KuomintangKuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT) ruling regime that allowed some fostering of political opposition. Taiwanese citizens were becoming weary of mainlander authority, and were eager for a more democratic society. The event turned into a series of political protests that led to public trials and arrests. It is considered a turning point for pro-democracy groups/KMT political oppositions.
After the Kaohsiung incident, a decade of political struggle continued between the mainlander-controlled KMT and the other political parties. The importance of the incident is that both Taiwanese people in Taiwan as well as the overseas Taiwanese community were galvanized into political actions. The movement which grew out of the incident formed the basis for the present-day opposition Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
. While political opposition at the time was not yet calling for Taiwanese independence, the event called for self-determination. An overseas support network of Taiwanese organizations was also formed in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Virtually all leading members of the present-day democratic opposition had a role in the event, either as defendants or as defense lawyers. By 2000, DPP successfully ended KMT rule.
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian is a former Taiwanese politician who was the 10th and 11th-term President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008. Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally been supportive of Taiwan independence, ended more than fifty years of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan...
who was elected ROC president had been one of the defense lawyers, while his running mate, Annette Lu
Annette Lu
Annette Lu Hsiu-lien , was the Vice President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008, under Chen Shui-bian. She announced her intentions to run for President of Taiwan on March 6, 2007, but withdrew in order to support DPP presidential nominee, Frank Hsieh...
had been one of the “Kaohsiung Eight.” She was sentenced to 12 years, of which she served five and one half. Both were re-elected to a second term in 2004.