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China and Taiwan now held 'special state to state relations'. Neither the Chinese nor the
Americans were amused by what they saw as a push towards a formal declaration of in-
dependence.
In 2000, Lee, unable to run for a third term, appointed the wooden Lien Chan as his
successor. The popular and charismatic James Soong, former Provincial Governor, be-
lieving he should have been chosen to represent the KMT, ran as an independent. By
splitting the KMT vote, the DPP's long-shot candidate Chen Shui-bian won with a little
over 39% of the vote. Over 50 years of continuous KMT rule came very unexpectedly to
an end.
THE KAOHSIUNG INCIDENT
For Taiwan, the late 1970s and early '80s was an era of storms: not just internation-
ally, with de-recognition from the UN and the US, but increasing within its own so-
ciety. Political dissent, which included calls for democracy and civil rights, was
growing. One of the most noteworthy uprisings of the late martial-law period oc-
curred in December 1979. Called the Kaohsiung Incident, it is still widely regarded
as a turning point in Taiwan's shift from authoritarian rule to democracy.
The incident began with the editors ofMeilidao,a publication often critical of the
government, organising a rally to celebrate International Human Rights Day. On the
day of the rally, after scuffles broke out between police and protestors the situation
turned into a full-scale riot. The authorities rounded up 50 prominent dissidents
and put them on trial. Among these included Taiwan's future vice-president An-
nette Lu, and democracy advocate Lin Yi-hsiung. (In February of the following year,
Lin's mother and twin daughters were murdered in their Taipei home. It is widely
believed the KMT had ordered the killing.)
The trial of the activists, though it ended with long prison terms, did not quite
have the effect the government wanted. In the first place, it gave the voice for inde-
pendence a wide audience (many foreign reporters were in attendance). It also
created the reputation of the next generation of activists. These included two of
the lawyers who represented the accused: future Taiwanese president Chen Shui-
bian, and future vice-president Frank Hsieh.
The majority of people in Taiwan also sympathised with the accused and were
horrified at the brutal crackdown by their government. The incident brought in-
creased support for democratic reform which eventually led to the lifting of martial
law and the formation of opposition parties.
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