Taipei Times: Taiwan in Time: The devout dissidents
Protesters from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan surrounded a police car in the afternoon of Jan. 8, 1988, after discovering a cache of wooden clubs, spears and swords inside. They demanded to know if the weapons were to be used against them, and the situation escalated as the two sides clashed. The churchgoers had gathered […]
Taipei Times: The Formosa Incident: a look back
… The present street demonstrations in Hong Kong are reminiscent of those in Taipei in 1986. In addition to pressure from the grassroots level, Taiwan’s democracy movement of the 1980s had important support from abroad: In the US and Europe, the overseas Taiwanese community coalesced after the Kaohsiung Incident through organizations such as the Formosan […]
Focus Taiwan: Kaohsiung Incident key to democratization: ‘Formosa’ contributor
… The Kaohsiung rally was held to oppose the KMT’s one-party rule, and called for the removal of bans on political parties and the end of martial law, which had been in place since 1949. At one point, riot police encircled the crowd and used tear gas on protesters, resulting in fierce clashes between the […]
Focus Taiwan: Reform more difficult than revolution: Chen Chu
… Chen was among those arrested and she was tried in a military court on charges of rebellion. She was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years in prison but was released in 1986 after serving six years of her sentence. In May 2019, Chen’s record of conviction on rebellion charges was wiped out by […]
Focus Taiwan: Taiwan’s martial law victims urge young people to cherish democracy
… One of the survivors, 81-year-old Yang Tien-lang (楊田郎), said he was arrested in 1955 at the age of 17 for allegedly “spreading propaganda for traitors,” while working as a newspaper delivery boy. His superiors reported that he had scrawled subversive slogans such as “overthrow Chiang Kai-shek” and “join the Communist Party” on the wall […]
History, Taipei Times: Declassified bureau files reveal how the KMT monitored ‘Formosa Magazine’
… The magazine organized a pro-democracy demonstration on Dec. 10, 1979. It was intended to commemorate Human Rights Day. The event turned violent when members of the crowd unknown to the organizers — and widely believed to have been provocateurs — began attacking police. The KMT authorities used the Incident as an excuse to arrest […]
History, Taipei Times: Taiwan in Time: ‘Noble patriots’ vs ‘independence mobsters?’
… “What makes us infinitely angry is that while Taiwan, Kinmen and Matsu have achieved peace and prosperity never seen in thousands of years of Chinese history… there’s a tiny countercurrent — the aspirant Taiwanese independence mobsters. They are driven by power and desire, and walk the same road as the communist bandits. They have […]
