It’s not uncommon to see schoolchildren the world over singing their national anthem and waving their national flag. It’s quite natural. If only it were that simple in Taiwan. Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) has suggested that the compulsory singing of the national anthem in morning assemblies and in the weekly flag-raising ceremony in elementary schools be reinstated to instill a sense of patriotism in our children. The ensuing clamor of objections drowned out any applause that met the proposal. The problem lies in the underlying disconnect between the historical context of the flag of the Republic of China (ROC) and the ROC national anthem on one side, and how people identify with Taiwan on the other.
The national anthem was first recited by ROC founder and then-leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) in 1924. The literal translation of the opening line is: “The Three Principles of the People [are] the foundations of our party [the KMT].” The ROC flag is the KMT party emblem set on a red background. It made sense to use the ROC flag and the ROC national anthem when Taiwan was still a one party-state under the KMT. The opening line, however, is inconsistent with democratic Taiwan’s multiparty political system. Then there’s the ROC flag. With its associations with the past excesses of KMT rule in Taiwan, it’s little wonder the Democratic Progressive Party wanted nothing to do with it when it was in power.
Beijing has applied pressure against the use of the ROC flag and anthem in international settings. During the Olympic Games flag-raising ceremony, they were replaced by a “Chinese Taipei” flag bearing the official International Olympic Committee logo and the ROC’s National Flag Anthem, which is usually reserved for international events. While this was out of any one person’s hands, the unequal treatment nevertheless brought shame to the country.
The KMT says the flag and the anthem should be respected — a noble sentiment that is not reflected in its actions. Yes, the KMT-run government is powerless to have the flag and anthem used in international forums, but why not during domestic events? Whenever Chinese officials or groups visit Taiwan, the flags are removed beforehand and the anthem either skipped or replaced with the National Flag Anthem. It’s at times like this that one’s faith in the KMT’s own sense of patriotism falters.
When Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) visited Taiwan in 2008, the police not only removed all national flags lining the route his entourage was scheduled to follow, they also kept people from waving the flag anywhere Chen could see them. Then, just more than a week ago, students waving the ROC flag at a game during the Third Asian Basketball Championships at Taoyuan’s Kainan University had their flags confiscated. Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) implied, contentiously, that they were politically motivated troublemakers; Minister of Education Wu said it was right for them to demonstrate their patriotism, that visiting Chinese teams would have to respect the flag and had no place objecting to it. If the government cannot be consistent, it’s no wonder the public is confused.
In a democracy, there exists a contractual relationship between the state, the government and the citizens. Citizens appoint their government at regular intervals and, if they are so unhappy with the way things are and feel that their vote is not going to improve matters, they can always vote with their feet and emigrate. Patriotism is desirable, but not essential. It is far better to improve civic education than pushing patriotism to strengthen citizens’ understanding of their rights and responsibilities regarding their government and other countries. It makes no sense to force people to sing the national anthem and wave the national flag if the government sets such a poor example. This will only make genuinely patriotic citizens more frustrated.
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