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Reversal of fortune for Kaohsiung Eight

By Irene Lin
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Dec 10, 1999, Page 1

Vilified as seditionists 20 years ago, the leaders of the Kaohsiung Incident are now the heroes of Taiwan's struggle for democracy after 20 years of what historians call "the quiet revolution."

The origins of this change lie in the founding of Formosa magazine in August 1979. The magazine was more than a political publication. By establishing local chapters throughout the island it became a political party in all but name. Its editorial board was a roll call of the leading opposition tang wai ("outside the party," 黨外) activists of the day.

The magazine had planned a rally in Kaohsiung on Dec. 10, 1979 to observe International Human Rights Day. The government reneged on an agreement to allow the Rotary Club Park to be used for a rally, so Formosa supporters attempted to march to another venue.

The march tuned into a riot when the marchers were attacked by riot police lobbing tear gas. To this day the police claim they were attacked first by the marchers, while some of the marchers claim that KMT agent provocateurs in their ranks instigated the violence, giving the police the excuse to attack.

The government, which was quick to condemn the violence as a conspiracy to overturn the government, arrested what it believed to be eight leading organizers, and put them on trial by court martial on charges of sedition.

The Kaohsiung Eight, as they became known, were sentenced to lengthy jail terms for their overt anti-government statements.

"These people tried to cover up their illegal acts by talking about human rights, democracy, and freedom. They used public rallies, speeches, and demonstrations to convey radical opinion that is detrimental to the government's image and national unity. And the end of their plans is to overturn the government," reads the indictment against the Kaohsiung Eight.

A political prisoner for over 25 years, DPP lawmaker Shih Ming-teh (施明德), one of the Eight, believes that what they had been pursuing in the 1970s turned out to be objectives of political reform carried out since the late 1980s by President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and his predecessor Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).

"Look at what Chiang Ching-kuo and Lee Teng-hui have done in pushing for political reform. Everything they were and are doing was what we were pressing the government to do 20 years ago," Shih said.

At his trial in 1980, Shih told the court that the purpose of starting Formosa magazine was to push for democratic reform, which included rescinding martial law, lifting the ban on the formation of political parties, lifting restrictions on the size and establishment of newspapers, and replacing the majority of legislators and national assemblymen who had been elected in China in 1948 with representatives elected from Taiwan.

In fact, all four reforms were carried out subsequently in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In the wake of "localization" of the political climate, considerable efforts were undertaken then to begin emphasizing a Taiwanese identity independent of China, and to reconstruct the history of Taiwan from a Taiwanese perspective.

This prompted a plethora of discussion on the nature of Taiwanese identity in culture, language, and history.

The Kaohsiung incident "was definitely a decisive event through which Taiwanese people were awakened overnight, regaining their strength and courage to defy the authoritarian regime," Shih said.

In analyzing Taiwan's 54 years under KMT rule, scholars have found similarities between the Kaohsiung Incident and another historical event on Feb. 28, 1947 -- the "2-28 Massacre" -- both of which left relations between Taiwanese and mainland Chinese in disarray, and led to recovery of Taiwan's own identity.

Prior to February 28, 1947, feelings between Taiwanese and mainland Chinese on Taiwan had become inflamed due to the iron-handed rule by then-military governor Chen Yi (陳儀). Tensions eventually erupted into violent confrontation when police tried to arrest a Taiwanese woman illegally selling cigarettes and bystanders tried to stop them. The incident escalated and shots were fired.

Within days the island was engulfed by anti-mainland Chinese rioting which eventually was suppressed with great savagery by soldiers despatched from China with the deaths of up to 40,000 Taiwanese.

Huang Fu-san (黃富三), an historian at National Taiwan University, points out that both incidents have marked historical moments of recovery of Taiwanese consciousness against the then-privileged status of mainland Chinese.

Huang said, however, that the two events have prompted diverse societal responses. After the 228 Incident, Taiwan became a "silent society," where freedom of expression -- especially by Taiwanese -- was strictly controlled by the government. In contrast, the Kaohsiung Incident, instead of discouraging, actually encouraged more Taiwanese to come forward to assert themselves. A "silent revolution," Huang said, took place following the Incident.

"Dissidents were put in jail and society appeared to be peaceful after the incident. But it was just an illusion, underneath which unrest was going on quietly, ready to break out anywhere on the island," Huang said.

As this "revolution" continued among Taiwanese communities in the early 1980s, a number of social movements began to take shape, for environmental protection, as well as the rights of laborers, women and farmers. And it was the common end of the various movements to think of things from Taiwan's perspective and fight for the rights of Taiwanese people.

The Kaohsiung Incident is thought to have had a significant impact on the public perception of the opposition movement, and that of the KMT regime. Taiwanese, who sympathized with the jailed opposition leaders, became disappointed with the KMT, and gradually became alienated from the party.

But as well as alienating large numbers of Taiwanese from the KMT regime, another important legacy of the Incident on domestic politics was to make the issue of Taiwan's international status central to its domestic politics.

Chang Yen-hsien (張炎憲), a research fellow of the Institute of Sociology of Academia Sinica, said there were already questions over Taiwan's international status early after the 228 Incident in 1947. But it was not until the Kaohsiung Incident that the issue was thrust into the public domain by the opposition movement.

"It's an inherent dilemma with which Taiwan has been confronted for long. The opposition leaders were daring enough to talk about the issue openly in a climate where only reunification was politically correct," Chang said. "The impact of their statements on Taiwan independence has lasted to this day. And sooner or later Taiwan people have to make their decision."

After their release from jail, the Kaohsiung Eight became instant celebrities, and continued to play an important part in Taiwan's democratic development. Nearly half of the defense team, meanwhile, pursued political careers after the trial, becoming the backbone of the DPP's leadership.

Twenty years ago, the courage of the Kaohsiung Eight and their defenders helped precipitate Taiwan's democratization. Even today many Taiwanese treat these people as folk heros. But as the political environment changed in the two decades, the credit for pushing for Taiwan's democratization has not necessarily gone to those who campaigned for so long and suffered so much to bring it about.

"The spotlight was stolen by [the KMT's] Lee Teng-hui, who has also been pushing for political reform from a Taiwanese perspective," said political analyst Julian Kuo (郭正亮). "We may feel glad to see the democracy ideals of the Kaohsiung Eight finally implemented. But we should feel sorry that it was delayed for a decade."
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