Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday came under fire over scornful remarks she made about long-time human rights activist Peter Huang (黃文雄), who received an Alumni Excellence Award from National Chengchi University earlier this month.
Huang was a key figure in an assassination attempt on Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), son of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), in New York in 1970, when Taiwan was ruled by an authoritarian KMT regime.
“Why was a [would-be] assassin who tried to kill former president Chiang given an excellent alumni award? Was there any reason to justify [the attempted] killing? I have two sisters graduating from National Chengchi University and they are more excellent than [Huang] because they at least are not killers,” Hung said in a speech at a forum organized by the university to discuss issues related to Chinese students studying in Taiwan.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said Hung’s comments were “inappropriate.”
“Since Hung is a deputy speaker of the legislature, she should shed her personal ideological beliefs when commenting on history. It was also inappropriate for her to intervene in university affairs. Universities should be kept independent of political influence,” Kuan said.
“It seems that Hung still lives in the Martial Law era,” National Chengchi University sociology professor Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華) said. “She has to let her brain evolve to be more receptive to universal values and democratic ideas, rather than sticking to the interpretation of history advocated by the KMT.”
In the face of authoritarianism, it was the courage of those brave enough to take revolutionary measures against tyrants that brought democracy to their countries, Ku said, citing former South African president Nelson Mandela as an example.
Huang returned to Taiwan in 1996, after being forced into exile for 25 years. He was the last of a large group of blacklisted political dissidents denied entry to the country. He has since dedicated himself to human rights activism.
Huang yesterday said he was not surprised by Hung’s remarks because people have different views in a democracy.
Reciting the third paragraph of the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — “Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law” — Huang said his actions in 1970 were based on this belief.
Later yesterday, Hung said her comments on the case were meant to arouse discussion about “whether education should encourage violence.”
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS