Opposition leaders call for increased awareness of Kaohsiung Incident

Key opposition figures turned up yesterday for the opening of an art exhibition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件), widely considered a watershed in Taiwan's democratic development.

The exhibition, which opened at the Huashan Art District (華山藝文特區) in Taipei, was convened by former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德), one of the eight oppo-sition leaders who were jailed for their role in the incident. He was joined by others who called for a greater historical awareness of the event.

"Introspection is the starting point in facing history, and forgiveness brings an end to agony," Shih said at the opening ceremony.

The Kaohsiung Incident occurred on Dec. 10, 1979, during an anti-government parade organized by the Formosa magazine (美麗島雜誌) -- a front for a broad alliance of the so-called tang wai (黨外, "outside the party") activists -- which coincided with International Human Rights Day.

The demonstration degenerated into violence when a confrontation broke out between demonstrators and the police.

The eight supposed ringleaders, including Shih, then president of the magazine, were sentenced to between 12 years and life. They were released at different times, between 1987 and 1990.

Former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), publisher of the magazine at the time who managed to escape to the US, said although he was a participant in the incident, he had no right to affirm the event's historical value.

The magazine's former editor-in-chief, Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), now a DPP legislator, said he hoped younger generations could learn a lesson from the incident.

When asked if they wanted the KMT government to formally apologize for their treatment, Shih said: "It is not us, but the voice of society that calls on the authorities to apologize, and to ensure justice is done."

He added, however, that it was difficult for those in power to apologize, and that he would not ask for one.

Also in attendance yesterday was Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), a member of the KMT who was studying in the US at the time of the incident. Pointing out that the Kaohsiung Incident had once been referred to as a "violent" event, Ma said it could be time for a reassessment of the event's significance. "Perhaps the 20th anniversary is the time to discuss it," he said.

In conjunction with yesterday's exhibition, a 60,000-character book compiled by Yeh Cheng-hui (葉振輝), a professor at National Sun Yat-San University, was published by the Kaohsiung City government. Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) was a member of the legal defense team for the so-called Kaohsiung Eight.

Yeh said the book is a compilation of publicly available information, published in the hope of bringing out the real story behind the official version of the incident.

Yesterday's opening ceremony was just the first of a week-long series of commemorative activities to be held in Taipei and Kaohsiung.

Other activities include a return to the military prison on Green Island, where some of those convicted for their role in the incident were held, on Wednesday. It will be followed by a reunion banquet the next day and a commemoration party at the Chungshan Stadium in Kaohsiung on Friday.