In the 1950s and 1960s, non-Kuomintang candidates could run for local positions in Taiwan, but were effectively barred from national or provincial posts because of a lack of resources and a government-controlled press that always supported the Kuomintang.
The movement gained strength from gradual emergence of a sense of Taiwanese identity and was emboldened by steps taken by Washington and Beijing toward normalization of diplomatic relations, undermining the Kuomintang's claim to be the legitimate government of all of China, including Taiwan.
Hsu Hsin-liang was an unpredictable political figure, a self labeled "socialist", who wanted to maintain the Taiwanese economic base while humanizing its class structure.
He vigorously advocated parliamentary democracy and Taiwan independence, and frequently attacked the state's political corruption and systematic violation of human rights.
At one point, a tear gas grenade was thrown, and two youths, Chiang Wen-kuo (江文國) and Chang Chi-ping (張治平), were said to have been shot dead by the police.