Pingtung County’s Gaoshih Village (高士) residents yesterday accused Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Policy Committee executive director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) of making “false, divisive and harmful” comments about the village’s Shinto shrine and demanded he make a public apology.
Tsai on Sunday said on Facebook that the rebuilding of the Gaoshih Shinto Shrine in the county’s Mudan Township (牡丹) was “an insult to Aborigines by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP),” adding that the shrine was built on the site where Paiwan Aborigines were massacred by Japanese troops during the Mudan Incident.
“The DPP government sang the praise of Japanese, instead of commemorating the valor of Paiwan leader Tauketok,” Tsai said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The Mudan Incident refers to the killing of 54 Ryukyuan sailors in 1871. In 1874, Japanese soldiers led the Taiwan Expedition in retaliation for the killing of the shipwrecked Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan Aborigines.
Demanding an apology, Gaoshih Village Warden Lee Te-fu (李德福) said: “Gaoshih Village is deeply saddened by Tsai’s false, divisive and harmful remarks that were made without fact-checking.”
The DPP was not involved in the rebuilding and funds for the reconstruction project were raised privately by Japanese Shinto priest Kenichi Sato, who delivered the money to the village in 2015, Lee said.
The shrine was rebuilt as “a symbol of forgiveness for past deeds and of the friendship that exists between the two peoples, “ Lee said, adding that it in no way glorifies “colonial oppression” as Tsai claimed.
“Tsai’s fallacious remarks have caused grave injury to our community. As a result, in recent days people have come to the village to take action against Paiwan’s and their extremely hostile attitude has terrorized the community,” he said.
Sato had told Japanese public broadcaster NHK that he raised the funds to rebuild the shrine to thank Taiwanese for their donations to Japanese after a deadly tsunami in 2011.
“This shrine stands for the history of the two peoples and their reconciliation, a history that Gaoshih natives know quite well. It is regrettable that Tsai made his comments without consulting the community,” a local tour guide said.
Tsai yesterday said he would not apologize, adding that his remarks were directed at the DPP government and not at the Aboriginal community.
“Does the DPP-controlled local government not have to give permission for the shrine to be rebuilt?” Tsai said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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