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20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF MARTIAL LAW: Ma slams DPP for `exploiting' martial law era

"[The Democratic Progressive Party] is a governing party that fails to make progress. It is just exploiting a historical scar and doesn't dare face up to the corruption of its administration over the past seven years."

Ma Ying-jeou, KMT presidential candidate

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday lashed out at the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), accusing it of "exploiting" the memory of the martial law era while failing to offer a vision for the nation.

"[The DPP] is a governing party that fails to make progress. It is just exploiting a historical scar and doesn't dare face up to the corruption of its administration over the past seven years," Ma said in Lishan (梨山), Taichung County, yesterday.

Ma was responding to criticism the DPP leveled at the KMT on Saturday at a Taipei event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the lifting of martial law.

At the event, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) compared the KMT to a "caretaker who harmed our people, raped our daughters and stole our property," adding that the public must not allow the "caretaker" to administer the country again.

Ma slammed Hsieh for his remarks, saying he "was surprised to hear Hsieh speak ill of others, because Hsieh is religious."

Ma also challenged Hsieh's idea of "reconciliation and coexistence," calling it "hollow words."

"The DPP is the governing party now. If it wants to attack the opposition, it should prove that the DPP can do better than the opposition instead of exploiting history," Ma said.

"The fact that the KMT was bad in the past doesn't prove the DPP is good now," Ma said.

"The KMT has stepped down [following the 2000 presidential election] and has reflected on its conduct during the martial law period," he said.

In response, Hsieh said yesterday while visiting Sanchong (三重), Taipei County, that the KMT was trying to "reconstruct" history in a bid to help "Mainlander `nobility' rule again."

While speaking with 15 victims of political persecution during the martial law era, Hsieh showed them statistics over political persecution cases from the period.

The entire families of those individuals targeted for persecution also suffered, Hsieh said.

Hsieh said the victims should forgive their persectors but never forget.

"Those who forget history will be forgotten by history. Those who abandon history will be abandoned by history," Hsieh said.

"Those who have harmed others are in no position to ask their victims to forget."
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