It is unfortunate that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) labels proposals for transitional justice made by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as “transitional hatred” or “throwing away the ancestral tablet,” because these proposals offer an opportunity for the KMT to bid farewell to its authoritarian past, while turning Taiwan into a “normal” nation.
With president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) promising to push forward transitional justice, the DPP caucus has proposed bills to take care of the KMT’s ill-gotten party assets, and DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) proposed to revise the National Emblem and National Flag of the Republic of China Act (中華民國國徽國旗法) and the Oath Act (宣誓條例) to remove portraits of Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) from public buildings.
However, KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) criticized the proposal on the party’s ill-gotten assets as “too provocative,” while KMT Acting Chairwoman Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) dismissed proposing to remove Sun’s portrait as “transitional hatred” and former deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) compared it to proposing to throw away the ancestral tablet of a family.
There is certainly much more to be done to bestow justice on Taiwanese society and the victims of the former authoritarian KMT regime by disclosing the truth, as well as pursuing the perpetrators; yet, judging from the KMT’s reaction to the initial proposals, strong opposition and fierce resistance can be expected from the KMT when the new government moves forward to achieve transitional justice in earnest.
Today marks the 69th anniversary of the 228 Incident, and in the past seven years, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has offered his condolences and apologized for the government’s role in the tragedy, but the victims, their families and the public never ceased to criticize the KMT for the 228 Incident and the White Terror era that followed.
KMT politicians often asked why the public would not forgive them after so many years and so many apologies — the answer is clear when looking at the KMT’s reaction to calls for transitional justice.
KMT leaders might have apologized, but they have never seemed sincere about it.
Ma apologizes to 228 victims and their families on Feb. 28, but less than a month later, on April 5, he visits the tomb of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to pay his respects, saying that Chiang might have made many mistakes, but he had contributed more to society.
Ma apologizes to victims of the White Terror era and their families on July 15, the day on which martial law was officially lifted in 1987, yet most of the documents related to political prisoners during the decades-long martial law period are still locked up in different government agencies and relatives of the executed political prisoners are still unable to receive the last letters that their loved ones wrote to them before being executed.
The KMT obviously has not learned its lesson, even after its disastrous defeats in the presidential and legislative elections last month as well as the nine-in-one elections in November 2014.
When the DPP tries to push forward transitional justice, the KMT still resists, playing the hate card.
Before KMT politicians ask why the DPP is always using something from the past to gain support from the public, perhaps it should think about why it has given the DPP such opportunity to do so.
Maybe the KMT should be grateful for the chance to bid farewell to its authoritarian past and cooperate to show that it is sincere about reforming itself to win back public support.
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