Owing to China's red-carpet treatment and its propaganda machine, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (
On April 29, just when Lien was meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
In this letter, they gave Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) and the KMT a lot of credit for their past achievements and even stated that "as Chinese, we are willing to join the KMT and under your and the KMT's leadership, to strive for peace and the well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait based on the "Three Principles of the People." In view of this, prior to your visit to China, we have set out to establish a KMT division in every province in China. Just when you are now holding talks with Beijing, we hereby issue this letter in the hope that you and the KMT's leadership can approve of and reply to our application as soon as possible."
These 46 dissidents are not ordinary folks. Among them are Sun Wenguang (
These names are familiar to fighters for Chinese democracy everywhere, and many of them are known to me personally. I am not personally in favor of their attempt to join the KMT, for it is a rather dangerous act that will very probably get them jailed, given the current political climate in China.
However, I really respect and admire the ideals they uphold, for they mentioned in the letter that "we hope that you and the KMT Central Standing Committee can believe in China and see the future of China, and that you can return to China to contribute to the development of the nation's democratic politics and eventually compete with the Chinese Communist Party by bringing back the `Three Principles of the People.'"
I would really like to ask Lien if he is aware of this letter. If he knows about it, what is his response? More importantly, is he willing to approve of their request, or give them any sort of reply?
In the speech he delivered at Peking University, Lien urged the Chinese to unite in order to save China. This is very a touching remark.
In response to this call, some people have expressed their willingness to join the KMT under his leadership and work together toward a better China. But is he willing to shoulder the responsibility of being their leader?
As their friend, I would even like to know that if they are persecuted by the CCP because of their request to join the KMT. Will they be protected by the KMT, which has just started building a platform for communication between themselves and the CCP?
I hope Lien and the KMT can answer these questions.
Wang Dan is a Chinese pro-democracy activist.
translated by daniel cheng
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