The Kaohsiung Incident

After the Kuomintang(KMT) retreated to Taiwan in 1949, they established an authoritarian regime and instituted martial law to maintain the minority mainlanders’ governance over the majority Taiwanese. This oppression led to the Kaohsiung Incident in 1979, a moment in which the Tangwai(democratic promoters outside KMT) leaders clashed with the KMT over the future of democracy. In the ensuing military trials, the KMT and the Tangwai performed as victims to curry international support. The international media recognized the KMT’s efforts to initiate moderate reforms in Taiwan and the Tangwai’s commitment to achieving democracy and human rights. Thus, the KMT and the Tangwai both achieved some success. More importantly, their clashes resulted in democratization as the two sides eventually reached compromises to reform Taiwan, marking the most peaceful process in the Third Wave of Democratization.