The recent irrational behavior displayed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members protesting the name change of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall was truly appalling. (KMT's name change fight opens rift, May 28, page 2). It was more like a fight among rogue people.
More puzzling, however, was a question posed by KMT Legislator Kuo Su-Chun (郭素春), who said, "Now that we have a memorial to democracy, does that mean democracy is dead, too?" ("KMT supports plan to rename street," May 24, page 4). Kuo apparently has a hard time making the connection between those people who sacrificed their lives for democratic principles and naming a memorial hall to honor them.
However, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin's (郝龍斌) idea of renaming a section of Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building the "Anti-Corruption Democracy Square" was a good idea ("City strikes back in name-change game," May 23, page 1). All the people of Taiwan, not just KMT members, should support the plan.
Hau, however, should recruit a group of artists to paint a large picture on the renamed square depicting corrupt people -- especially KMT members under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) -- looting the national treasury while countless onlookers shout at them to stop looting and return the stolen goods to the people.
Anyone walking on the square will be reminded of the KMT's illegally obtained assets. Perhaps this could hasten the return of the stolen assets to the treasury.
Honesty and democracy are universal values, yet KMT members have proven unable to clean their own house, whether under the leadership of former chairmen Lien Chan (連戰) or Ma Ying-yeou (馬英九) or under Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄). An "Anti-Corruption Monument" to stress the importance of integrity would remind everyone that the KMT itself has shown little integrity.
The Taipei City Government should create an "Anti-Corruption Park" where statues of corrupt people could be erected for visitors to judge or examine their wrongdoings.
It is very difficult to fathom why KMT members often think they have nothing to do with corruption, even when the whole world has known for decades that the KMT was and still is the most corrupt political party in the world.
As US General George Marshall, quoted in Sterling Seagrave's book The Soong Dynasty, once said: "Mao's greatest asset was the Chiang regime's dismal corruption."
Still don't get it? Well read your history, please.
Kris Liao
San Francisco, California
US President Donald Trump created some consternation in Taiwan last week when he told a news conference that a successful trade deal with China would help with “unification.” Although the People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, Trump’s language struck a raw nerve in Taiwan given his open siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression seeking to “reunify” Ukraine and Russia. On earlier occasions, Trump has criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the US’ chip industry and for relying too much on the US for defense, ominously presaging a weakening of US support for Taiwan. However, further examination of Trump’s remarks in
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
It is being said every second day: The ongoing recall campaign in Taiwan — where citizens are trying to collect enough signatures to trigger re-elections for a number of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators — is orchestrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), or even President William Lai (賴清德) himself. The KMT makes the claim, and foreign media and analysts repeat it. However, they never show any proof — because there is not any. It is alarming how easily academics, journalists and experts toss around claims that amount to accusing a democratic government of conspiracy — without a shred of evidence. These
China on May 23, 1951, imposed the so-called “17-Point Agreement” to formally annex Tibet. In March, China in its 18th White Paper misleadingly said it laid “firm foundations for the region’s human rights cause.” The agreement is invalid in international law, because it was signed under threat. Ngapo Ngawang Jigme, head of the Tibetan delegation sent to China for peace negotiations, was not authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of the Tibetan government and the delegation was made to sign it under duress. After seven decades, Tibet remains intact and there is global outpouring of sympathy for Tibetans. This realization
RSS