Whenever a politician visits a monument to honor a special person or event, there is always the possibility of controversy, because in history there are often at least two sides to a story. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) visit to the 228 Memorial Park in Taipei on Friday upset some people, as he observed a historical event — Retrocession Day — while paying no mind to the victims of the 228 Massacre commemorated at the park.
On the anniversary of Japan’s handover of Taiwan to the Republic of China (ROC), when then-chief executive of the ROC forces Chen Yi (陳儀) accepted Japan’s surrender in Taipei on behalf the Allies in World War II in 1945, proclaimed as Taiwan Retrocession Day the next year, Lien paid his respects to four historical figures he regarded as great contributors to the nation. He laid flowers at their bronze busts in the park, including that of Lien Heng (連橫), a historian, author of A General History of Taiwan and his great-grandfather.
As Sean Lien left and was asked why he did not visit the 228 Memorial Monument, which is also in the park, he said it was not on his planned schedule, while his campaign office later said that Lien would pay homage to victims of the 228 Incident some other time.
The 228 Incident refers to the brutal military crackdown that began on Feb. 27, 1947, following civil protests that were the culmination of public indignation sparked by the repressive and corrupt KMT regime since the ROC forces took control over the nation, and led to a huge death toll and the breakup of families.
Either unintentionally or purposely, paying a visit to the 228 Memorial Park in commemoration of Retrocession Day without stopping at the 228 Memorial Monument to remember the 228 Incident was unkind to the victims and their families. However, it could be a carefully calculated electoral strategy to win back undecided voters in the pan-blue KMT camp.
Previous election results have shown that Taipei voters favor the KMT by a 55-45 ratio, if not a 60-40 ratio, making victory difficult for a pan-green candidate in a mayoral election if it is not a three-way race, such as in 1994, when former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) won thanks to a split KMT.
With little more than a month until the election, several public polls have shown that independent mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has been leading Lien by double digits in electoral support, attributed to a large portion of pan-blue supporters who have not yet decided for whom to vote and could end up defecting to Ko or choosing not to vote on Nov. 29.
Retrocession Day was a good opportunity for Lien to call for unity in the pro-China ranks. By paying tribute to the four historical figures to highlight the historical links between Taiwan and China, Lien sent the message that furthering ties is something voters can expect from him if he is elected. His snub of the 228 Incident during the visit may have been calculated to accentuate this message.
In the same vein as his recent appeal to military personnel, civil servants and teachers — traditional pan-blue voters — that they will see their preferential benefits slashed if Ko wins the election, and his attempt to characterize Ko as a diehard supporter of Chen, Lien has spun an ideologically partisan message by scheduling the visit to the 228 Memorial Park.
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