A parade is to be held in Kaohsiung on Saturday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident, organizers said yesterday.
Sacrifices by people who fought for democracy, freedom and human rights in Taiwan must not be forgotten, Taiwan Friends Association director Huang Kun-hu (黃崑虎) told reporters in Taipei.
The incident started when the pro-democracy Formosa Magazine (美麗島雜誌) held a demonstration commemorating International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, 1979, in Kaohsiung, calling on the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to respect human rights and demanding democracy.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
Within hours, the protesters were surrounded by scores of military police, while prominent leaders of the democracy movement were arrested. Several of them later went on to become leaders of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The incident is considered an important event in Taiwan’s transition to democracy.
“Let history be a lesson to all,” Huang said, urging people to cherish the nation’s hard-won democratic political system and free elections.
At the time of the incident, there was no freedom of speech and the government deemed the protest a revolt, said Linda Arrigo (艾琳達), a veteran democracy campaigner, human rights advocate and environmentalist.
However, it merely called for freedom, democracy and human rights in Taiwan, Arrigo said.
“Looking back at this stage of Taiwanese history and comparing it to what is going on right now in Hong Kong, I believe that many people here feel for the pro-democracy protesters there,” she said.
Saturday’s parade, jointly organized by the Defend Democracy Safeguard Taiwan Alliance, the Taiwan Society and several other civic groups, is to take place on the roads around the Formosa Boulevard Station of the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit system.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS