Pro-independence academics slammed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
On Thursday, Ma launched his latest book, entitled Taiwan Spirit, which explores the connection between the KMT and Taiwan.
While Ma denied using the book as a campaign tool, it was apparent that the book, with its Taiwan-centric rhetoric, was an attempt to gain popularity among ethnic Taiwanese.
However, members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP) yesterday criticized the book.
TAUP Chairman Tsai Ting-kuei (
"It's true that most of us [Taiwanese] are descendants of immigrants from China ... However, being Taiwan-centric is about embracing the island that we live on now," he said. "But Ma spent too much of the book making the connection between Taiwan and China."
Ma emphasized in his book that most Taiwanese are descendants of Chinese immigrants and praised figures such as former Chinese governor in Taiwan Liu Ming-chuan (劉銘傳), dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) for their "contribution to Taiwan."
"If Ma really had Taiwan on his mind when he wrote the book, he should have included people like Lei Chen (雷震) or Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), not just those who are connected to China or the KMT," said Lee Shiao-feng (李筱峰), a professor of Taiwanese history at Shih Hsin University and a long-time independence advocate.
Although he was born in China and fled to Taiwan with the KMT, Lei devoted himself to a movement against the KMT regime and was imprisoned for 10 years. Lei was also an advocate of Taiwanese independence. Deng was the child of a Chinese refugee who fled China when the communists won the civil war. Deng also advocated Taiwanese independence and human rights.
On April 7, 1989, Deng, then editor-in-chief of Freedom Era Weekly (
Lee called Ma's book nonsense, adding that "Ma couldn't even get the basics right."
"In the book, [Ma] said that the name `Taiwan' was given by the Chinese; but it's long been known by historians that the word `Taiwan' was originally the name of a Siraya community in Tainan," Lee told the forum.
Siraya is an ancient Aboriginal tribe that inhabited the Tainan region centuries ago.
"Apparently Ma's so-called `Taiwan centricity' is merely a tool to connect Taiwan to China," Lee said.
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