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[LETTER]

The Nationalist Olympics

While high-ranking officials from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have flocked to the Olympics boasting blood and cultural ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Taiwan seems to have disappeared from the radar of KMT representatives. Instead of rooting for our home-grown athletes at the Games, these officials seem more honored to share the “pride and joy” of such an “impressive” display of Chinese cultural nationalism at the Beijing Olympics.

KMT officials have repeatedly praised the success of the Games and have themselves become complicit publicists of Chinese nationalism, jumping on the pro-China bandwagon that has swept the Chinese-speaking world.

As leader of the ruling party, Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), along with his cronies, has refused to differentiate between the Taiwanese and Chinese teams. Instead of giving credit to our athletes as the pride of Taiwan, Wu and others have reportedly referred to them as “Chinese athletes” (中華健兒) and said they enjoy a “home court advantage” in Beijing.

But in contrast to this “home-court advantage,” some supporters of the nation’s athletes known for displaying a strong sense of pride in Taiwan, were denied entry to China.

While the CPP continues to pick and choose — or rather, divide and conquer — by allying those who adhere to its sanctioned Chinese nationalism, China continues to isolate anyone who is seen as pro-Taiwan.

It is unfortunate that many of the KMT officials participating in the Olympic nationalist farce have become accomplices in China’s unification project. While the KMT refuses to even consider Taiwanese independence as an option, it praises China’s glory and the longtime wisdom of the “Chinese nation,” which is a political entity that did not exist until the 20th century. Perhaps, to be fair, the KMT leaders truly believe that they have reached “peace in their times.”

However, it appears that this “peace” can only be reached by silencing democracy and freedom of speech in Taiwan, disregarding the existence of de facto Taiwanese independence and nationalism and promoting a chaotic and old-fashioned understanding of Chinese nationalism, with the end game being ultimate unification with China on Beijing’s terms.

It is thus especially embarrassing that while the KMT officials remain mute on the subjects of human rights, democracy and even pride in Taiwan’s democracy, many other statesman have made public statements on the eve of the Games to criticize China’s poor human right records, as well as its cultural persecution of the Tibetan and Uighur peoples.

One must wonder what the KMT has been thinking as it has offered a series of appeasement gestures to China, while subjugating themselves and pushing Taiwan in the direction of a dependent satellite state.

The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the KMT’s solution to most of the nation’s problems appears to be increased dependency on and integration with China, regardless of the social and political consequences of these policies. To the detriment of Taiwan’s peace, democracy and sovereignty, the KMT’s games go on.

Roger Lee Huang

Taipei
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