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To respect the flag, build the nation

`If the sacred national flag made you feel threatened ... would you not want to discard it? How has the national flag been hijacked by ambitious politicians and mobs?'

A day after the presidential inauguration, two different scenes appeared in television reports. In one we saw the president lead military and civilian officials to attend a memorial service for Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) at the Martyrs' Shrine in Taipei. In the other, we saw several lawmakers in the Legislative Yuan holding small national flags issued during the inauguration ceremony, making a fuss over how these flags were unceremoniously discarded after the ceremony.

A day earlier, the scenes had been almost the reverse. Some hundreds of opposition party members met at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial, scolding President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and accusing him of winning a second term by "stealing the nation." And over 200,000 people gathered outside the Presidential Office, holding flags and celebrating Chen's inauguration.

It is interesting that in gatherings at sites honoring the same long-departed leader, one side was full of scoldings and accusations while the other side saluted him, promising respect and responsibility for the nation. And it's ironic that when holding the same small national flags, one side was full of criticism and rage while the other side was celebrating, filled with joy over a promising future.

During these two days, the national flag took center stage, the tiny banners giving rise to a complex mixture of love and hate. Why is it that what should be a national symbol has become the focus of party politics? Some legislators startled listeners by using analogies that turned the sacred national flag into nothing more than toilet paper or even condoms.

In what way is the national flag at fault? Or does the fault lie with the people, or the state? Ambitious people who manipulated China's history brought their flag with them to Taiwan. During the authoritarian era and the transition to democracy, people here endured many hardships from power-hungry politicians' arrogance and manipulations of public sentiment.

These politicians treated and still treat the public as lambs for the slaughter, deliberately trampling on the public's free will. In the eyes of most people, this process has inevitably turned the national flag into a symbol of authoritarianism.

What does the sacred national flag really symbolize? It of course symbolizes the nation. But in a situation where we fail to build a national consciousness, and where fundamental definitions such as "national territory" still include the territory of other nations, the issue clearly goes beyond the flag and even beyond Taiwan's borders, as a possible change of national flag is virulently opposed by China).

In the wake of the presidential election, the flag has become less a symbol than a tool. For example, it has become a useful item during protests. So long as you carry a flag, you can stop cars in the street and block traffic; it also serves as an excellent weapon for assaulting others and a symbolic shield to cover violent actions (we saw many gangsters speaking louder when they held a flag).

This is also why many inauguration participants were startled to see crowds of people near the site holding the national flag, as though it had been tainted by those with intentions opposite from their own. If the sacred national flag made you feel threatened as though with a weapon, would you not want to discard it?

How has the national flag been hijacked by ambitious politicians and mobs?

Modern history regards Sun as the founder of the Republic of China (ROC), and the flag symbolizing the ROC was created by adding a field of red to the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) party flag. Just as stated by Lu Hao-tung (陸皓東), who designed the "blue sky with a white sun" flag in 1895, the red represents the blood of the people. This means that though in theory the republic was founded by Sun's KMT, in reality it was founded by the blood and sacrifices of millions.

This is also why the flag has been designated as the national flag: to represent the people and a party. But truly democratic countries cannot remain one-party dictatorships forever. Did Sun found the republic with an intent to create an eternal one-party dictatorship? That would have been a tragedy indeed! Even for a party, that party's original spirit, its courage and determination to build a prosperous nation, must be reflected by this flag.

The blood shed by the people to color the flag is the main reason it has been designated as the national flag. A democratic and free political system has finally been formed after more than 80 years' struggle by the people, and this should be defended still with our blood and our lives.

How auspicious is the national flag? A piece of cloth colored with symbols can make people live and die for it. How innocent are the people of Taiwan? Innocently born into this world like blank sheets of paper, people have been marked with symbols and colors and separated into irrational groups in order to serve politicians' interests.

My point is that when the nation symbolized by this flag can protect its people's welfare and dignity, only then will citizens hold this flag with solid respect instead of empty emotion.

Lee Hsien-hua is a professor at National Sun Yat-sen University and deputy director of Southern Taiwan Heart Association.

TRANSLATED BY Perry Svensson
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