Thirty years ago a group of Taiwanese opposition activists staged what was meant to be a peaceful human rights protest. Instead, it proved to be a turning point in ending one-party rule in the country.
On the evening of Dec. 10, 1979, members of the fledgling opposition gathered in Kaohsiung City.
The demonstration erupted into violence and several opposition leaders were arrested. However, far from silencing the movement, the crackdown by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government ignited support for the opposition and publicized their cause.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YIH, TAIPEI TIMES
“The incident made big headlines in local newspapers, and an increasing number of people became aware of what we had been struggling for,” said Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), one of the main figures in the protest.
What became known as the Kaohsiung Incident marked a breakthrough in the campaign to end the stranglehold of the KMT, which had arrived from China in 1949 after losing the Chinese Civil War to the communists, he said.
“From that time on, the ruling party became more cautious in cracking down on campaigns in the streets,” said Yao, now 71.
For three decades, the KMT had managed to keep its monopoly on power, but as Taiwan became more prosperous and its citizens better educated, the party's control began to slip.
The Kaohsiung demonstration, which unofficial estimates said involved between 10,000 and 30,000 people, was intended as a peaceful call for human rights, but dozens were injured when protesters clashed with police.
In the following days, police rounded up the organizers, including Yao. Numerous reports document their maltreatment in detention. They received jail terms of 12 years to life, but the punishment only earned them public sympathy.
“It was a key event because of the lawyers who became interested and came in to help the opposition,” said Bruce Jacobs, an expert on Taiwan at Australia's Monash University, who is writing a book on the incident.
In elections in 1980, relatives of the jailed dissidents, among them Yao's wife, ran as candidates and found strong support.
The rest of the decade saw Taiwan's gradual but inexorable march toward democracy, with the founding of the Democratic Progressive Party in 1986 and the lifting of martial law in 1987.
Yao, who served seven years of his 12-year sentence, rose through the ranks and later served as Examination Yuan president.
Looking back, he is proud of the democratic system that he helped create.
“It is strong enough to prevent Taiwan from sliding back into one-party rule,” he said.
Gathering near the present day Jhongshan and Jhongjheng road intersection, witnesses said on that historic night tens of thousands of people marched to the beat of We Will Overcome — a key anthem of the US civil rights movement.
By nightfall, scores of military police had surrounded the group, dispersing tear gas. Prominent leaders of the democratic movement were arrested, charged with sedition and tried in military courts.
“Thirty years ago [today], I was arrested at five in the morning ... standing up for human rights, democracy ... and Taiwan,” Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) recounted yesterday.
She was sentenced to 12 years for her involvement in the incident.
“For me to be stand here today as the mayor of this city signifies that our previous sacrifices have not been in vain.”
Chen said the incident was a pivotal moment that changed the nation's course of history because the protests showed KMT authorities that the “[Taiwanese] people had enough of being told what to do instead of deciding their own fate.”
While noting that society has changed and improved for the better, she said the incident allowed the public for the first time to show their love for Taiwan after decades of being discouraged from doing so by martial law.
“Whenever I think of that moment, I am filled with pride that I participated in such a historical event and I would [do it] again if I had to,” she said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO
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