Thousands of people flooded the streets of Kaohsiung City yesterday evening to mark the 30th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident.
Speaking to a crowd in a sealed-off area of Jhongshan Road beside the Formosa Boulevard MRT station — the same place where political dissidents calling for democratic reforms were arrested 30 years ago in what came to be known as the Kaohsiung Incident — former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) urged the public to safeguard democracy and the freedoms they now enjoy.
Lu and Hsieh played prominent roles in the incident, with Lu one of the Kaohsiung Eight, or the eight high profile leaders of the protest — and Hsieh later joining the team of attorneys for their defense.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YIH, TAIPEI TIMES
Other members of the defense team — including Chen Chi-sen (陳繼盛), Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) and You Ching (尤清) — also attended the event.
A visibly emotional Lu, who had been sentenced by a military court to 12 years in prison, told the crowd that the freedoms taken for granted today had to be sustained through continued sacrifices. She called on the public to defend democracy against “attacks” by the government, referring to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government's plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.
“The KMT's eagerness to conduct secret meetings and agreements with China” shows that the party does not take democratic values seriously, Lu said.
Critics say the agreement would put Taiwan’s sovereignty at risk and lay the foundation for unification with China. The government, however, insists it would be purely an economic agreement with no political strings attached.
“The KMT government seems ready to sell out Taiwan to achieve peaceful unification with China,” Lu said.
These views were echoed by Hsieh, who said that the nation's hard-earned freedoms were under constant pressure from tht KMT government. He added that the public “needs to act ... to preserve our freedoms.”
“Kaohsiung is the birthplace of our nation’s democracy, I hope that we can once again show the nation our values in next year's elections,” Hsieh said, referring to the municipal elections next December.
Jacklin Lee (李錦英), one of thousands who attended the event, told the Taipei Times: “We came out tonight because we love Taiwan ... These people have sacrificed themselves for us, of course, we need to support them.”
Lee said she lived directly across the street from where the arrests were made 30 years ago.
“At the time, we all had a feeling that arrests were going to be made, but the fact that they actually had the audacity to do so still surprised us,” she said.
Chiu Huang-chuan (邱晃泉) agreed, saying: “I find it hard to believe that the same [party] which locked up the protesters for sedition is now siding with China instead of Taiwan.”
“Society needs to come together, reach a consensus to support Taiwan [against] these moves,” Chiu said.
The organizers of the event estimated that more than 10,000 attended the commemoration last night.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
RSS