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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 DPP commemorates 40th year of Formosa Incident
Democratic Progressive Party politicians pose for a photograph at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the Formosa Incident at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
By Yang Chun-hui and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） yesterday held an event at the Grand Hotel in Taipei marking the 40th anniversary of the Formosa Incident, also known as the Kaohsiung Incident.
The event also commemorated former Formosa Magazine publisher and Taiwan democracy pioneer Huang Hsin-chieh （黃信介）, who passed away 20 years ago.
Huang was a founder of the dangwai （黨外, “outside the party”） movement during the Chinese Nationalist Party’s （KMT） one-party rule, and made important contributions in moving Taiwan “from authoritarianism and toward democracy,” the DPP said.
Huang’s brother, Huang Tien-fu （黃天福）, attended the event.
The incident occurred when the magazine held a demonstration in Kaohsiung commemorating Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, 1979, in an effort to promote and demand democracy in Taiwan. Military police and soldiers intervened, leading to violence. Virtually all opposition figures in the nation were arrested following the incident.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu （陳菊）, who was arrested at the time, yesterday said the incident was “just a beginning.”
“Everyone must strive together” in the face of the challenges the nation still faces, she said.
She is grateful to the lawyers who defended her and other detainees at the time, and told their parents that being arrested over such a protest was “not something to be ashamed of,” Chen said.
The protesters must be recognized for their bravery, she said.
“Had nobody stood up for me, [former vice president] Annette Lu （呂秀蓮） and former DPP chairman Shih Ming-te （施明德） at the time, who knows how Taiwan’s history would have been written?” Chen said.
Former DPP chairman Yao Chia-wen （姚嘉文）, who also attended the event, said the demonstration and the ensuing crackdown was only part of the picture.
“The Formosa Incident involved organization, as well as demands and activities that all contributed to our strength. Without our peaceful methods, organization and demands at the time, we would not have Taiwan as it is today,” he said.
Former premier William Lai （賴清德） said at the event that as a democracy advocate from the younger generation, he acknowledges the contributions of those who fought for democracy during the incident, as well as the lawyers and people who stood up for them.
Taiwanese should stand together against the threats to the nation’s democracy and sovereignty from China, Lai said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
