Taiwan is facing a formidable crisis as Beijing’s “united front” tactics penetrate society, Chinese-born American historian Yu Ying-shih (余英時) said yesterday in a recorded speech, urging people to resist Chinese infiltration by improving “humanistic learning.”
An Academia Sinica academician, the US-based historian and Sinologist’s speech, titled “From scientific democracy to humanistic democracy,” was for a Sinology forum named after Chinese historian Luo Jialun (羅家倫) at National Chengchi University in Taipei.
Noting the protests against Hong Kong’s extradition bill, which has been withdrawn, Yu said that high-school students and undergraduates are the group voicing the strongest objection to oppression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Screen grab from National Chengchi University’s Facebook account
Although Taiwanese society generally supports the protesters in their pursuit for democracy, other opinions are still heard, the 89-year-old said.
While diversity is good, people need a solid understanding of humanism to make correct judgements, he said.
Taiwanese society was subjected to the yoke of ideas imparted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which affects conceptions of freedom and democracy, he said.
Hong Kongers know the importance of freedom, as they enjoyed it under the British government, which governed the territory until 1997, he said, adding that he had lived in Hong Kong for years.
Taiwan has fulfilled the ideal of developing democracy and science, which people of the May Fourth Movement in China in 1919 sought, Yu said.
Taiwanese can elect their own leaders and their scientific research has met global standards, Yu said.
However, despite its formal establishment, Taiwan’s democracy has not yet matured, he said.
Taiwanese should gain more understanding about the CCP through the study of politics, philosophy and history, Yu said.
Many media firms in Taiwan have become parrots of the Chinese-language Renmin Ribao (人民日報), a mouthpiece of the Chinese government, showing the lack of humanistic cultivation of Taiwanese, he said.
Without humanistic learning, it is hard to see through and resist China’s ever-present infiltration, Yu said.
Beijing has employed economic leverage to menace many nations, including in the West, which silence themselves in certain domains to protect their business with China, he said.
Democracy should be bolstered by humanistic values, otherwise it would spoil other parts of society, Yu said.
A lesson worth learning is that the Soviet Union, once looking to establish a democracy, returned to dictatorship after its dissolution, he said.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements 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,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS