A parade marking the 40th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident was held in the city yesterday to commemorate the sacrifices of people who fought for the nation’s democracy, freedom and human rights.
The Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, refers to a police crackdown, under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime, on a rally held by Formosa Magazine and opposition politicians on Dec. 10, 1979, to mark Human Rights Day.
The event is generally recognized as an important turning point in the nation’s democratization.
Photo: CNA
Yesterday’s parade, jointly organized by the Defend Democracy Safeguard Taiwan Alliance, the Taiwan Society and several other local civic groups, marched around the roads surrounding the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system’s Formosa Boulevard Station.
Former premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) — who provided legal counsel for several victims following the incident — and human rights activists from Taiwan and abroad attended the parade, which also featured speeches by a number of victims of the incident.
Although the incident is now a distant memory, the people of Taiwan today should cherish their hard-won democracy, freedom of speech and human rights, Chang said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took part in the parade briefly before heading to another event.
Other participants included representatives from Amnesty International, and human rights activists Klaus H. Walter from Germany, and Masahiro Watarida and Takayuki Munakata from Japan.
The parade concluded with a prayer led by pastor from the Presbyterian Church.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) took part in the prayer, expressing gratitude for living through that era as it has made her life more meaningful.
She also thanked the attorneys who defended for the victims, and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and several human rights groups who helped victims of the incident.
Chen was among eight people, including veteran activist Shih Ming-te (施明德) and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), who were tried in a military court and given sentences ranging from 12 years to life in prison for their involvement in the rally in 1979. Forty-three other people were tried in civilian courts and given two to seven-year sentences.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS