The Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, refers to a police crackdown, under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime, on a rally held by Formosa Magazine and opposition politicians on Dec. 10, 1979, to mark Human Rights Day. Former premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) — who provided legal counsel for several victims following the incident — and human rights activists from Taiwan and abroad attended the parade, which also featured speeches by a number of victims of the incident. Although the incident is now a distant memory, the people of Taiwan today should cherish their hard-won democracy, freedom of speech and human rights, Chang said. Other participants included representatives from Amnesty International, and human rights activists Klaus H. Walter from Germany, and Masahiro Watarida and Takayuki Munakata from Japan. She also thanked the attorneys who defended for the victims, and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and several human rights groups who helped victims of the incident.
