Thirty years after military police clashed with supporters of the democracy movement in Kaohsiung, the event still evoked strong emotions and memories in academics, witnesses and political leaders yesterday at a forum held to mark the protest known as the “Kaohsiung Incident.”

Lee Shiao-feng (李筱峰), a professor at National Taipei University of Education’s Graduate School of Taiwan Culture and a long-time pro-independence activist, recounted his experience as a participant in the Incident, saying the streets were filled with protesters eager to see political change and an end to authoritarian rule.