A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator is asking the government to make public its official records pertaining to the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident, saying the public deserves a better understanding of the brutal police crackdown.
On Dec. 10, 1979, tens of thousands of pro-democracy activists were surrounded by military police and dispersed using tear gas during a human rights march in Kaohsiung. Prominent leaders of the movement were arrested, charged with sedition and tried in military courts.
The legal team that defended the activists, the latter of which included former DPP chairman Shih Ming-te (施明德) and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), later formed the core of a new democracy movement and were some of the founding members of the main opposition party. Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), a young lawyer at the time, would later become president.
PHOTO: CNA
DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) yesterday said any efforts to commemorate the movement would be incomplete if it did not include an official government account of the crackdown. She said many questions remained unresolved, including the unsolved murder of former DPP chairperson Lin I-hsiung’s (林義雄) family following the crackdown.
The Council of Cultural Affairs is expected to spend about NT$2.5 million (US$78,772) on building a showcase for historical documents relating to the Kaohsiung Incident as part of its larger exhibition on the incident. In addition, it is set to spend NT$950,000 on an investigation of such documents.
However, Chen Chia-chun (陳嘉君), Shih’s wife, yesterday held up dozens of letters bearing personal accounts that would be part of the showcase, saying none were from government officials or could help form an official account of the decision-making process during the crackdown.
She accused President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of playing a key role in the refusal to release the documents, citing his sensitive role in the crackdown. At the time, Ma was deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
“Only through these documents can the truth behind our history be revealed. These files are the key to our past,” Chen said.
Huang Hui-chun (黃惠君), executive director of the New Taiwan Foundation who is studying the Kaohsiung Incident, said the only piece of the puzzle still missing in the investigation into the crackdown was the official account.
A council official said that while the agency would continue its investigation into the missing documents, it could not make any promises.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS