They called on the KMT-controlled Taiwan Provincial Government to hold popular elections for regional government officials; respect the freedom of assembly, speech, publication and right to strike; and hire Taiwanese as heads of state-run enterprises, district court directors, chief prosecutors and other judicial personnel.
The "32 requests" are considered the fundamental spirit of Taiwan's democratic movements including the tang wai movement initiated by daring dissidents before the DPP was formed in 1986.
Following the 228 Incident was the White Terror era in which thousands of Taiwan's most prominent citizens and leading intellectuals were dragged from their homes and killed or disappeared without explanation.
During the subsequent half century, private citizens have maintained a discreet silence, not daring to mention the taboo event.
The situation did not improve until the tang wai movement emerged. The tang wai movement gradually gained steam after Lee came to power in 1988.
RSS