Sun, Dec 26, 1999 page36

• Soong has no historical responsibility

  • Rick Chu
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  During my years in Seoul as a correspondent, I had many opportunities to discuss historical and nationality issues with South Korean scholars and journalists. Our conclusion was that the Korean people had a very strong "sense of history," but a very weak "sense of historical responsibility."

  Their strong sense of history can be traced back to the numerous tragedies the Koreans have endured, in particular during the past 50 years. These include colonization by alien tribes, occupation by foreign powers (such as Japan before the WWII, and the Americans and Russians afterwards, who divided Korea into North and South), atrocities committed by their own people (such as the Korean War of 1953 and the Kwangju massacre of 1980), military coups and the ensuing iron-fisted dictatorships (such as Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan).

  The numerous lives sacrificed in these tragedies have endowed Koreans with a strong sense of history and the drive to seek the truth, take revenge, and fight against injustice.

  On the other hand, a weak sense of historical responsibility means the Korean politicians have no character. Whatever they do, they do for short-term ends, without the slightest thought about what malignant smear they will leave behind as history. They will stop at nothing to achieve their ends, including treason or betrayal. In other words, they work for one-time benefits, not to leave a trail of significant achievements in history. Of course, this has something to do with the deeply "polarized" character of the Korean people.

  Looking at James Soong's (宋楚瑜) financial scandal in the light of the Korean experience, we have no way of knowing what Soong himself is thinking. But he must have embezzled the money for reasons of greed or power. Soong's irrational, runaway behavior during his tenure as provincial governor, and his long-running conflict with Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) central government is in fact the Taiwan version of the "Yeltsin effect."

  Soong won more than four million votes in the gubernatorial election of December 1994. From then to the March 1996 presidential election, Soong was the first Chinese to win such a large number of votes -- both in the 5,000-year history of China and the 400-year history of Taiwan. His record remained unbroken for one-and-a-half years, until Lee Teng-hui garnered more than five million votes in 1996.

  In some ways, Soong was the "King of Taiwan within the territory of the ROC." It was also inevitable that he would follow the example of Russia's President Boris Yeltsin during the days of the former Soviet Union. Bloated with self-aggrandizement, Yeltsin challenged Mikhail Gorbachev and, in effect, was the catalyst which forced the president to resign.

  Described in terms of the Korean experience, Soong's opposition to Lee is a kind of "civilian coup." Soong's ever-changing character bears considerable similarity with those ambitious military men and politicians of South Korea (such as opposition leader Kim Young Sam, who defected to the ruling party in 1990 and became president as a result.)

  Driven by the desire for power, South Korea's ambitious military men completely forget their historical responsibility. They competed for power with guns. If the coup was successful, they would rule supreme and happily enjoy a life of opulence. If the coup should fail, they would not be sorry to sacrifice their depraved lives.

  The irony here is that the incompetency of the civilian governments (especially that of Kim Young Sam's) has led South Koreans to a nostalgia for the efficiency, order, and public works under the Park Chung Hee regime.

  Now they worship Park as the "father of South Korea's modernization." It is still too early to determine how Park will go down in South Korea's history. However, there is no denying that Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo, who ruled the country at gunpoint after Park's death, have now earned the status of "anti-democratic historical culprits."

  Compared to the Korean excesses, the Chinese (on both sides of the Taiwan Strait) more often follow the "middle way" (中庸之道). The Chinese are more concerned about whether they will leave a bad name for posterity (like Chin Shih Huang [秦始皇] of the Chin dynasty and Chin Kuai [秦檜] of the Sung dynasty.) That is one reason why no military coup has occurred in Taiwan over the past 50 years.

  After the Chinese civil war, coups and defections have become something the Chinese -- whether soldier or politicians -- do not want to touch, thanks to their sense of historical responsibility.

  However, Soong's excesses show us nothing resembling the middle way -- a virtue so treasured by the Chinese people.

  Seen in this light, it is ironic that Soong has been making overtures to the people under the guise of a Taiwanese.

  The Taiwanese people deserve criticism for their lack of self-scrutiny compared to the Korean people's strong sense of history.

  But Taiwan, despite its middle way culture, has also produced James Soong, a politician without any sense of historical responsibility. Perhaps this is another example of what President Lee called the "sorrow of the Taiwanese people."

  Rick Chu is the Associate Editor in Chief of the Taipei Times.
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