Numerous broadcasts of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan's (
Moreover, it is inconceivable that communist China is home to factories that churn out KMT flags, raising the question of where the KMT flags came from. From a business perspective, manufacturing KMT flags would be pointless -- after all, who would buy such flags in China after Lien left? Of course, from a political perspective, producing KMT flags in China would be an even worse idea.
Recently, a 23-year-old Chong-qing man named Zhang Qi (張起) -- a medical school graduate and a member of the "Chinese Pan-blue Alliance," an organization established around the time of the Tiananmen Massacre anniversary by Chinese youth who admire Sun Yat-sen and support the KMT -- was arrested for displaying the KMT and Republic of China flags in the mountain area where he lives.
The incident received wide coverage in the overseas Chinese-language press, as did recently released Chinese activist Huang Qi's (黃琦) open letter to KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) calling on Ma to "help his pan-blue brethren in China." Ma turned a deaf ear to the letter, failing to criticize Beijing or call for the Chongqing man's release. Instead it was Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) who had the good sense to speak up for the Chinese pan-blue activitist.
The incident underscores once again that the pan-blue leaders' eagerness to press palms with China's elite has nothing to do with upholding the Three Principles of the People, ie, nationalism, democracy and the livelihoods of the people, as envisaged by Sun when he founded the KMT.
As one Chinese writer put it: "Lien Chan was never interested in visiting the oppressed descendants of KMT members; his agenda was to enjoy scenic landscapes and sing the praises of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Such sycophancy reveals [pan-blue leaders'] intentions of using China in the pursuit of political interests back home."
Huang in his open letter calling for the release of the Chongqing man mentioned that Chinese Internet users have already expressed their disapproval of Ma in numerous online forums and have called on the KMT to own up to its responsibilities.
"Foreign and local media are focused on this Chinese man who was jailed for his support of the KMT and its Three Principles of the People; however, the KMT -- the very keepers of the three principles and a supposed advocate of human rights in China -- is silent. How hypocritical," Huang said.
Not only is the KMT hypocritical, but it is deceiving both itself and others. Ma has announced that the KMT seeks to build a membership in China, but he dares say nothing when a member in the Chinese Pan-blue Alliance is arrested for waving the KMT flag. Build up membership? That's a lie.
When President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma last met, Ma announced that if Chen distrusted Beijing, then the KMT could act as mediator, communicating with the CCP on his behalf. He also said that he was certain that the KMT's understanding of the CCP would lead to successful negotiations.
Now, when communication is urgently needed to save a KMT supporter in China locked up for waving a KMT flag, Ma has nothing to say. The Chinese youth are being deceived by Ma and Lien. They don't know that the KMT couldn't care less about their well-being, or that the KMT just wants to get back in power and that it is just as devoid of idealism as the CCP.
Cao Changqing is a freelance writer based in the US.
Translated by Max Hirsch
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
For Taiwan, the ongoing US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets are a warning signal: When a major power stretches the boundaries of self-defense, smaller states feel the tremors first. Taiwan’s security rests on two pillars: US deterrence and the credibility of international law. The first deters coercion from China. The second legitimizes Taiwan’s place in the international community. One is material. The other is moral. Both are indispensable. Under the UN Charter, force is lawful only in response to an armed attack or with UN Security Council authorization. Even pre-emptive self-defense — long debated — requires a demonstrably imminent
Since being re-elected, US President Donald Trump has consistently taken concrete action to counter China and to safeguard the interests of the US and other democratic nations. The attacks on Iran, the earlier capture of deposed of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and efforts to remove Chinese influence from the Panama Canal all demonstrate that, as tensions with Beijing intensify, Washington has adopted a hardline stance aimed at weakening its power. Iran and Venezuela are important allies and major oil suppliers of China, and the US has effectively decapitated both. The US has continuously strengthened its military presence in the Philippines. Japanese Prime
RSS