Ironies abound in current political climate

Historians interpret the development of democracy in Taiwan over the past 30 years as the history of a struggle between local Taiwanese political forces and an alien ruling class. The Kaohsiung Incident, they believe, marks a watershed in this history.

Today, 20 years later, the greenhorn lawyer who volunteered as a defense attorney for those put on trial over the Incident has become the presidential candidate of Taiwan's principal opposition party. And in a case of near-comical irony, the government official -- James Soong (宋楚瑜) -- who played one of the most vigorous roles in suppressing the democracy movement, following what he says were orders from above, is also running for the presidency, styling himself an architect of democratic reforms.

Taiwan's international status plummeted after the ROC was hounded out of the UN in the early 1970s. Having lost legitimacy in the international arena, internal stability then became a key for the KMT to maintain its authority, according to Lee Yung-chih (李永熾), a professor at National Taiwan University.

"As a result, then president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) began to patronize the Taiwanese political elite on a massive scale. Mean-while, the conservative ruling class tried to suppress the trend in order to protect their vested interests. The Kaohsiung Incident was a head-on clash that resulted from these two forces," Lee said.

Pointing out Soong's role in the Incident, Lee says he was the head of the Government Information Office at the time. Son of a top military official who served under Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), Soong worked as the personal interpreter of Chiang Ching-kuo before taking up the post of GIO chief. "In the aftermath of the Kaohsiung Incident, he led an all-out mudslinging campaign against the `seditionists' and `violent elements.' During an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan, Soong called Shih Ming-teh [general manager of Formosa magazine] (施明德) a `conspirator who instigates violence,'" Lee said.

"Soong played the role of a media hatchet man who spun reality for the ruling class," Lee said.

Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), a 29-year old maritime lawyer at the time, was invited by a lawyer for Formosa magazine to act as defense lawyer for Huang Hsin-chieh (黃信介).

Chen initially hesitated, being told that to take the case would ruin his career as a lawyer. He was persuaded to take the case by his wife Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) who told him: "If you don't take on this case , it would be meaningless to continue to serve as a lawyer ... we might as well leave this country." Chen's decision to take the case marked the start of his political career.

After the Incident, Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), now also an independent presidential candidate, who had already gone to the US in September 1979, established the United Front for the Establishment of the Taiwan State (台灣建國聯合陣線) in the US to campaign for those tried in the aftermath of the Incident.

Lien Chan (連戰), now Vice President, chaired the Executive Yuan's National Youth Commission at the time, and was not involved in the Incident. He is not known to have made a public comment on the KMT's role in the Incident.

According to Lee Yung-chih, the Kaohsiung Incident generation and their defense lawyers braved the intimidation of the authorities and gave full expression to their concepts of democracy during the trials. Despite their defeat in court, their performance won the hearts of the Taiwanese people, who rewarded them with their votes in several consecutive elections following the Incident.