Numerous broadcasts of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan's (
Moreover, it is inconceivable that communist China is home to factories that churn out KMT flags, raising the question of where the KMT flags came from. From a business perspective, manufacturing KMT flags would be pointless -- after all, who would buy such flags in China after Lien left? Of course, from a political perspective, producing KMT flags in China would be an even worse idea.
Recently, a 23-year-old Chong-qing man named Zhang Qi (張起) -- a medical school graduate and a member of the "Chinese Pan-blue Alliance," an organization established around the time of the Tiananmen Massacre anniversary by Chinese youth who admire Sun Yat-sen and support the KMT -- was arrested for displaying the KMT and Republic of China flags in the mountain area where he lives.
The incident received wide coverage in the overseas Chinese-language press, as did recently released Chinese activist Huang Qi's (黃琦) open letter to KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) calling on Ma to "help his pan-blue brethren in China." Ma turned a deaf ear to the letter, failing to criticize Beijing or call for the Chongqing man's release. Instead it was Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) who had the good sense to speak up for the Chinese pan-blue activitist.
The incident underscores once again that the pan-blue leaders' eagerness to press palms with China's elite has nothing to do with upholding the Three Principles of the People, ie, nationalism, democracy and the livelihoods of the people, as envisaged by Sun when he founded the KMT.
As one Chinese writer put it: "Lien Chan was never interested in visiting the oppressed descendants of KMT members; his agenda was to enjoy scenic landscapes and sing the praises of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Such sycophancy reveals [pan-blue leaders'] intentions of using China in the pursuit of political interests back home."
Huang in his open letter calling for the release of the Chongqing man mentioned that Chinese Internet users have already expressed their disapproval of Ma in numerous online forums and have called on the KMT to own up to its responsibilities.
"Foreign and local media are focused on this Chinese man who was jailed for his support of the KMT and its Three Principles of the People; however, the KMT -- the very keepers of the three principles and a supposed advocate of human rights in China -- is silent. How hypocritical," Huang said.
Not only is the KMT hypocritical, but it is deceiving both itself and others. Ma has announced that the KMT seeks to build a membership in China, but he dares say nothing when a member in the Chinese Pan-blue Alliance is arrested for waving the KMT flag. Build up membership? That's a lie.
When President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma last met, Ma announced that if Chen distrusted Beijing, then the KMT could act as mediator, communicating with the CCP on his behalf. He also said that he was certain that the KMT's understanding of the CCP would lead to successful negotiations.
Now, when communication is urgently needed to save a KMT supporter in China locked up for waving a KMT flag, Ma has nothing to say. The Chinese youth are being deceived by Ma and Lien. They don't know that the KMT couldn't care less about their well-being, or that the KMT just wants to get back in power and that it is just as devoid of idealism as the CCP.
Cao Changqing is a freelance writer based in the US.
Translated by Max Hirsch
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry