Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday visited Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei on the 151st anniversary of Sun’s birth, where she said that the KMT is Sun’s true heir, in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) celebration of Sun’s 150th birthday in Beijing on Friday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Friday said that the best way to pay tribute to Sun Yat-sen is to continue to pursue the rejuvenated China that Sun dreamed of, Xinhua news agency reported.
Xi also said that the CCP is “the most resolute supporter, the most loyal collaborator and the truest heir of Sun’s revolutionary enterprise,” the report said.
Photo: CNA, provided by Tainan District
Hung yesterday said that Sun is the KMT’s “permanent leader” and a great man who led the revolutionary founders of the Republic of China (ROC).
“There is no question that the KMT is the true heir of Sun,” Hung said.
Sun was born on Nov. 12, 1866. According to Chinese tradition, that would make him 151, as a newborn is already considered one year old.
Photo: Chang CHia-ming, Taipei Times
The exhibition, titled: “The Cession of Taiwan Instigated the Revolution, the Republic Guarded Taiwan,” was sponsored by the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and the KMT Party History Institute.
The exhibition displays artifacts and documents that signify the spirit of Sun’s 40 years of “republic revolution,” the KMT said, but added that more importantly, it also tells the stories of Taiwanese patriots who strived for revolution in China during the Japanese colonial era in Taiwan.
“Sun’s devotion to the revolution was closely related to the outbreak of the [First] Sino-Japanese War and the defeat of the Qing Dynasty which led to the cession of Taiwan; in a way it can be said that the loss of Taiwan was the starting point of Sun’s revolution,” the party said, adding that it hopes the public can learn more about Sun’s endeavors through the exhibition.
At the opening event, Hung said that Sun’s revolution had “direct and intimate connections” with Taiwan.
“The cession of Taiwan and the Pescadores was of extreme concern to the nation’s founding father, and he cherished the wish of retrieving them to consolidate the ROC,” Hung said.
She also cited various examples of historical Taiwanese figures who joined the cause of the revolution of the republic, demonstrating that “Taiwanese did not succumb completely to Japanese rule during the Japanese colonial era.”
Questioning the party’s current direction, the party chairwoman said self-reflection is needed when the CCP now calls itself Sun’s true heir.
“Have we forgotten the spirit and ideals the party members had when they founded the party? Have we lost the KMT’s core ideas? If we have forgotten Sun’s last words: ‘Peace, struggle and save China’ and our own core values, which would be tantamount to trashing our treasures, how can we call ourselves Sun’s heirs?” she asked.
During Hung’s visit, she bumped into former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who was also touring the exhibition and was accompanied by former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), former Presidential Office secretary-general Tseng Tung-chuan (曾永權) and former National Security Council secretary-general Kao Hua-chu (高華柱).
On Ma’s instigation, the group chanted KMT slogans, with the audience cheering for “president Ma,” chairwoman Hung, the KMT and the ROC.
In response to media queries about the CCP’s claim to be Sun’s heir, Ma said: “The father of the nation is our father of the nation.”
“It is very different in that the CCP sees Sun as a ‘forerunner of the democratic revolution’ while we regard Sun as the founder of the ROC,” he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
EIGHT KILLED: Three of the four juvenile victims were children of the man suspected of setting the fire at the tire repair shop after a family dispute Four of the eight people killed in a fire in Hsinchu City on Wednesday night were children and the other four were adults who died while trying to rescue the children from the second floor of the burning building, the city’s Fire Bureau said yesterday. Fire Bureau First Corps commander Chang Chih-chih (張智智) told a news conference that the fire at Zheng Yi Tire Repair Shop on Dongda Road might have been intentionally set by the owner’s son, Chen Yen-hsiang (陳彥翔), who earlier had an argument with other family members. Chen allegedly bought gasoline and lit a fire near four motorcycles inside
FIFA World Cup host Qatar has corrected an online application form that listed Taiwan as part of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Following the ministry’s protest on Wednesday, “Taiwan” replaced “Taiwan, Province of China” on a dropdown menu on the Web site to apply for a Hayya Card, an identification card all World Cup spectators are required to obtain, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. “We express our appreciation to the event organizers for their swift response in making the correction and safeguarding the rights of our nation’s fans,” she added. The card also serves as an entry visa for
FIVE QUESTIONED: Customers reported faulty kits after Safeway OA Supply Co allegedly imported poor-quality versions from China and sold them as US-made products The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday banned the sale and importation of Flowflex COVID-19 rapid test kits, after 2.37 million flawed kits, allegedly made in China, entered the Taiwanese market and were sold to 13 government agencies. According to regulations, the kits should be manufactured in factories in the US, but the importer allegedly imported poor-quality kits from China illegally and sold them as US-made products, FDA section chief Fu Ying-hsien (傅映先) said. The FDA ordered that all Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Tests that were imported by Safeway OA Supply Co Ltd (大鑫資訊) be recalled and warned customers against buying or
NEW TRAVEL REGIME: The CECC advised people to stay put in between quarantine and self-disease prevention, but said that they could apply for a location change Inbound travelers who need to change locations for the four-day self-disease prevention period following their three-day quarantine must apply with their local government, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The “one person per household” principle would remain in place under the new “3+4” quarantine policy, which was implemented yesterday, the center said. More than 4,500 incoming travelers were expected yesterday, including more than 980 people who entered Taiwan in the early morning, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), the CECC’s acting spokesman and medical response division deputy head. Lo said many people had asked the CECC whether
RSS