Toward the end of last year, distorted media reports presented a speech by former president Lee Teng-hui (
The KMT rose immediately to denounce Lee's speech on the matter. Not only did the elite of the alien regime grind its teeth, but local yes-men also stood up to declare war on Lee. The part of the speech where Lee talked about inheriting political power from Chiang should have been sufficient to blunt the current KMT's denial of the history of its rule, but it seems the KMT believes it is able to find flaws in that argument. But then, in a TV talk show called Seminar on Taiwan's Overall National Goals in the 21st Century, Lee's own revelations restored the "Chiang-Lee" inheritance idea which he himself values so highly. Viewing the passion with which he has contributed his policies to Taiwan at a time when he is approaching his 80th birthday highlights his unhesitating enthusiasm for Taiwan and proves the rationality of his words.
Chiang is not untouchable. His historic status is not confined to "localization/Taiwanese," and neither can it be encapsulated in or explained solely by the fact that he passed on political power to Lee. We must go back to the 228 Incident during the early days of KMT rule on Taiwan, the White Terror during the 1950s and extralegal power maneuvers. That Lee always has praised Chiang is understandable given his particular feelings resulting from Chiang's transfer of power to him. This behavior makes it abundantly clear that Lee's "Promote Young Taiwanese" speech was not a criticism of Chiang.
Where Lee came from
Rather than criticizing Chiang, it would be more accurate to say that Lee criticized many local Taiwanese members of the power elite for having forgotten where they come from, and for having sold out Taiwan by being acquiescent to the foreign rulers and their interests. Lee takes pride in the fact that he remembers where he comes from. His efforts to further localization and democratization truly stand out when compared to many of the other Taiwanese absorbed into the KMT. Lee has a particular manner of speaking, in particular when using "mandarinized" Taiwanese in his standard Chinese. At those times, a kind of foreign language awkwardness often causes him problems. If he is deliberately misinterpreted, complications will arise.
Wasn't "Promote Young Taiwanese" about absorbing Taiwanese people? Wasn't it about initiating a more active kind of government where Taiwan was ruled by Taiwanese? Of course it was. Most of the 40 years during which the Chiangs' KMT ruled Taiwan consisted of rule under martial law. Chiang Kai-shek (
Chiang Kai-shek stood on a foundation laid by the chilling and bloody suppression of Taiwan during the 228 Incident and the elimination of dissidents during the White Terror in the 1950s after Chiang's escape from China to Taiwan. He also relied on US troops and the Republic of China's seat in the UN. This situation, where his was the only China, provided the conditions for his absolute authoritarian rule.
Tougher times
That was not the situation for the younger Chiang. He had to face international setbacks as well as the problem of eliminating the old KMT power elite. He also had to face Taiwan; occupied by the alien KMT regime, the power of the island to rebuild itself was born of the disasters of history. This power posed a challenge to him, the man who had inherited the island from Chiang Kai-shek. Due to the situation resulting from the state of economic development in Taiwan at the time, reform was of course more important than revolution and peaceful coexistence more important than chaos and turbulence.
Chiang Ching-kuo's "Promote Young Taiwanese" policy gave more importance to the political status of the Taiwanese people than did the policies of the Chiang Kai-shek era. He could not avoid facing changes in the circumstances under which he ruled. He did, however, show that he was a more sensitive politician than his father. Would he have been able to ensure the continued existence of the ROC on Taiwan had he not made use of Taiwanese people? The question was whether he, with Taiwanese people in the KMT, could continue to run a one-party state. Or should he start a democratic revolution and let national rule pass into the hands of the people through democratic elections? It was his successor, Lee, who actually completed democratization.
But was Lee's road to reform a smooth road? Did people within the KMT really support him? Did local KMT members produced as a result of the "Promote Young Taiwanese" really support him? Not necessarily. It is from this perspective that we should understand Lee's emotional "Promote Young Taiwanese" speech, his criticism of certain people, and his pride in his political stance. In fact, Lee's road to reform was not smooth because he encountered opposition from within the KMT. His efforts at Taiwanization have been met by a constant sinicization attitude among Taiwanese KMT-members.
Three Taiwanese
Just take a look at the three Taiwanese who served as governor of Taiwan province during the Chiang Ching-kuo era: Lin Yang-kang (
Three Taiwanese, three types of personality who, with their different backgrounds, would have led Taiwan down three different roads. The saying goes that one kind of rice will feed a hundred different kinds of man. In the same way, these three are all Taiwanese and members of the KMT, but also different men.
Let's take a closer look at Lin. As governor of Taiwan during the rebirth of the tangwai movement, Chiang used him to suppress the rising democratic forces in Taiwan's provincial assembly. He began his career at the lower levels of local government and served as both county commissioner and city mayor. After Lin,who was not afraid to say that a lack of Taiwanese talent was the reason everyone in the ruling organization came from the outside, was later followed by other "Lin Yang-kangs" such as Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) and Wu Den-yi (吳敦義). This kind of person, with an extremely strong awareness of power, moves around inside the KMT, using his political scheming solely to trample on Taiwanese.
Next, we have Chiu. He studied hard in his youth. With his whole person exuding an attitude saying that "without the KMT's cultivation and training, there would be no Chiu," he often gives Taiwanese the feeling he is a small-minded person. Although he, too, can have a sharp tongue, he doesn't possess Lin's ability to become a puppet competing for high office, promoted by people with ulterior motives.
Hsu Shui-teh (
Another type of person
Lee, then, is another type of person. Having studied Lin and Chiu, Chiang decided on Lee. Chiang certainly made comparisons between the three along Lee's road from governor of Taiwan on to vice president and president, and there were also reasons for seeing Lee as a close friend of Chiang's. Lee is an intellectual with a social awareness. Even though the situation after the war forced him to wait on the sidelines, he is ultimately a Taiwanese with a sense of modern culture. He didn't necessarily have to choose the political road, but politics chose him. Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) outside of the KMT and Lee mirror each other in their glory, but Peng, who comes from a wealthy background, is an intellectual who would die for his beliefs, while Lee, from a well-to-do middle class family, is the kind of intellectual who is not afraid of humiliation and would rather wait for an opportunity and then embrace it once it presents itself. During the Chiang Kai-shek era, the KMT wanted to use Peng, but never succeeded in doing so. There were some unique reasons that Chiang, once offended by Peng, was not afraid of later taking a risk in using Lee.
Lee's presidency has been described as 12 years spent in the tiger's lair which allowed him, through his system reform, to leave a deeper impression than Peng did. It also caused Lin and Chiu to pale by comparison. That Peng could rejoice in Lee's success highlights the state of mind of Taiwanese intellectuals. Looking back in comparison at Lin and Chiu we see only inferiority. This is the perspective from which Lee's "Promote Young Taiwanese" speech should be understood. Rather than criticizing Chiang, he was reflecting on Taiwanese people. In the KMT, Lee was often alone and without support. It is not often that Taiwanese KMT members stand up for Taiwan, but it often happens that they are obstructive. No wonder that Lee, despite the fact that he now is striving for the happiness of Taiwan, also says he feels sorry for Taiwan.
Lee Min-yung is a poet and president of the Taiwan Peace Foundation.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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