Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) failure to pay his respects to victims of the 228 Massacre while visiting the 228 Memorial Park yesterday has sparked fierce controversy.
Lien visited the park to pay his respects to historical figures that he said are considered to have made great contributions to the nation.
During his visit, he laid flowers at the bronze busts of Cheng Chen-kung (鄭成功), a Ming Dynasty loyalist also known as Koxinga; Liu Ming-chuan (劉銘傳), the governor of Taiwan during the Qing Dynasy; Chiu Feng-jia (丘逢甲), a patriotic poet who has been honored for his resistance against the Japanese military after the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki; and Lien Heng (連橫), a historian, author of A General History of Taiwan and Sean Lien’s great-grandfather.
Photo: CNA
Sean Lien said his visit was prompted by his meeting earlier this week with former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-te (施明德) — who later quit the party and led the “red shirt” protests against then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2008 — who raised the idea of building a shrine for those who had contributed significantly to the nation.
“We are supportive of Shih’s idea of having a place to honor and remember the contributions and deeds of people of diverse backgrounds, ethnic groups and places of origin, who have, at different times, done great things for Taiwan. I think Taipei could work in this direction so that Taiwanese know what their predecessors achieved,” Sean Lien said.
Yet his failure to visit the 228 Memorial Monument in the park, which commemorates the victims of a brutal crackdown launched by the then-KMT regime on Feb. 27, 1947, was interpreted by the local media as intentional.
Yesterday was the eve of Retrocession Day, declared by the previous KMT government to observe the end of Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan and its “return” to the Republic of China in 1945.
Sean Lien’s spokesperson, Chien Chen-yu (錢震宇), confirmed that the visit was purposely made on the eve of Retrocession Day “to pay respect to the four historical figures in the 228 Memorial Park and to thank them for their devotion to the land.”
“As for the 228 Memorial Monument, we will pay our respects another day,” he added.
Sean Lien told reporters that paying tribute to the 228 Memorial Monument was not on his campaign itinerary yesterday.
“[I] followed the planned itinerary. There was no arrangement made [for me to pay my respects to the 228 Memorial Monument today],” Sean Lien said.
Asked about the particularly long prayer he made at the bust of his great-grandfather Lien Heng, Sean Lien said he regretted that — while his camp has refrained from attacking their opponents’ families and ancestors — “the opposition camp has continued the tactic long practiced by the DPP, which is to harshly criticize my ancestors by distorting the facts, taking things out of context and using insulting words [against them].”
The reputation of Lien Heng, well known for his work on Taiwanese history, has been criticized over an opinion piece he wrote for Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpo (台灣日日新報), a daily newspaper published during the Japanese colonial era in 1930.
In the opinion piece, Lien Heng, who was said to have been paid by the Japanese colonial government to write the essay, encouraged the use of opium and called the practice “beneficial.”
Taiwanese literati were infuriated by the essay, resulting in Lien Heng’s ostracism and his relocation to China.
His son, Lien Chen-tung (連震東), returned to Taiwan in 1945 with the KMT regime and became one of the KMT officials responsible for the takeover of the government.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
RSS