The stronger a person's sense of mission, the more likely he is to become an enemy of his former self. History contains plenty of examples of revolutionaries turned anti-revolution and reformers turned anti-reform.
The late Chinese philosopher and essayist Hu Shih (
Why did Calvin become an enemy of his former self? According to Hu, Calvin deeply believed his conscience reflected God's commands, and his words represented God's will. And it was God's will to severely punish heretics.
Driven by his sense of mission, Calvin broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in 1533 to fight for religious freedom. This sense of mission made him a religious reformer. But he eventually became an anti-reformer who suppressed religious freedom and even a murderer who slaughtered people who held views different from his own. Not only did he become an enemy of his former self, he also defended himself in the name of God.
Since Calvin's time, countless people in all corners of the world have become like him. These people changed history with their sense of mission, but they also gradually became enemies of their former selves because of their "missions." Some 400 years later in Taiwan, how shocking it is to hear former president Lee Teng-hui (
Calvin was a religious reformer with a great sense of mission. Lee is a political reformer, also with a great sense of mission. Calvin changed the history of world religion and Lee changed the history of democracy in Taiwan.
Calvin became an enemy of his former self, and so has Lee.
"Party politics" had always been central to Lee's political beliefs. While he remains a KMT member, his heart belongs to the newly established Taiwan Solidarity Union as he vows to do all he can to make the TSU the biggest political party in Taiwan. When asked by reporters if he would stump for KMT candidates in the year-end elections, he said there was no chance he would do so.
Lee has always claimed that he is opposed to systems of patriarchy. But now he is trying to stage a comeback on the basis that he, "the father of the family [of Taiwan], cannot retire yet because of the family's black-sheep sons."
Doesn't he realize that by portraying himself as the father of the family and scolding the opposition parties for being black-sheep, he is adhering to the patriarchal systems he claims to deplore?
Lee used to be known as "Mr Democracy." But he recently said that the democracy he built in Taiwan may collapse if he does not stage a come back. Anyone who says, "the democracy that I built," is incapable of understanding democracy and does not deserve the title of "Mr Democracy."
Lee, however, has now become invincible, for his place in history has made his thoughts iron laws. Besides, he is doing what God told him to do. Can God's will be wrong? Anyone who dares to criticize Lee can hardly expect either to change or hurt him and will only be accused of being politically incorrect.
Hu was a senior of Lee's at Cornell University and a pioneer of democracy. Lee should at least have the patience to listen to the Calvin story as told by Hu.
Wang Chien-chuang is president of The Journalist magazine.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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