A Chinese joke goes, "you won't know how low your government post is until you are in Beijing, you won't know how poor you are until you are in Shanghai and you won't know how unhealthy you are until you are in Hainan." To this one can now add: "You won't know that the Cultural Revolution is still going on until you are in Taiwan." Although the Cultural Revolution was launched by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chairman Mao Zedong (毛澤東) and there is no Mao here, after observing the current situation, I tend to agree.
Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in the name of culture, but it was in fact aimed at toppling then Chinese president Liu Shaoqi (
Mao started the Cultural Revolution through government-controlled publications -- the People's Daily, the People's Liberation Daily and Hongqi Magazine. Their editorials, special reports and articles by members of the "proletarian headquarters" moulded public opinion. After the "red shock wave" was initiated, the nation moved in unison. Those who were named, were immediately criticized and denounced at public meetings. To protect themselves, officials at lower party levels disclosed information about people in their area or departments to label them all "monsters and demons."
These people -- referred to as the "five black classes," later expanded to eight -- were not arrested. Rather, they were exposed by the dictatorship of the masses and the "five red classes." They were paraded through the streets to be reproached, beaten and spat on. At the time, doctors would ask about one's background, and if there was any connectiontto someone in the five black classes, treatment was refused. China was immersed in a red terror.
The CCP spread slogans to encourage violence against "bad" people. The struggle aggravated social division, almost paralyzed the government and brought the economy to the brink of collapse.
After Mao seized power and successfully implemented the "grand revolutionary coalition," neither side approved of people from the other side. As a result, one faction emerged and took power -- still requiring approval from above -- while the five black categories were slowly rehabilitated.
Taiwan's culture of disclosure is similar to the Cultural Revolution's attitude to "question and attack everything." Taiwan's pro-independence forces are now being beaten and forced to apologize just like the "five black classes." Where is the democracy in that? In fact, China is the one manipulating this populism. Although there is no Mao here, China's influence is everywhere.
Finding a politician like Shih Ming-teh (施明德) who has never been to China is not easy. Unfortunately, the presence of people like fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪) in the Million Voices Against Corruption campaign -- as well as pro-unification politicians, entertainers who rely on the big China market and China-backed gangsters -- has changed Shih's position in the political spectrum. I worry that Shih's campaign will bring the Cultural Revolution back from the dead. The question is, is he in control?
The Cultural Revolution brought disaster to China and Beijing knows that if political intimidation and military coercion do not change Taiwan, it can use the campaign to depose Chen to create a cultural revolution to divide Taiwan.
But will deposing Chen satisfy China's ultimate goal of controlling Taiwan?
The government and opposition must gain a clear understanding of the issue.
Paul Lin is a political commentator based in Taipei. Translated by Lin Ya-ti
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS