Veteran entertainer Lisa Cheng (鄭惠中) was once more thrust into the public eye on Friday last week when she threw red paint on a portrait of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at the memorial set up for him at the Taipei Guest House. Last year, Cheng caused a scene when she slapped Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) in the face.
When asked why she threw paint at Lee’s portrait, Cheng said, conversationally: “I hate the ‘Godfather of Taiwanese independence.’”
Given her previous statements, her avid support of former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and her presence at Chinese Unification Promotion Party events, it is not too difficult to see on which part of the political ideological spectrum Cheng resides.
There have been many examples of individuals defacing or beheading statues as a way to express their opinion. One could interpret this kind of action as “symbolic speech,” conforming to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution.
However, some brazen forms of protest can go too far, and should be subject to some degree of legal sanction, either through the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) or the Criminal Code.
The motivation behind Cheng’s actions goes beyond her personal political leanings: It suggests a kind of psychological tethering to an education received under the party-state system.
For people like Cheng, Taiwan in the post-democratization era has given rise to grievances and grudges against the KMT’s “tripartite enemy” — the Chinese communists, domestic dissidents and the Taiwanese independence movement — that, within Taiwan, are naturally represented by independence advocates and the old dangwai (黨外, “outside the party”) movement.
Through the nation’s democratization process, prior enemies of the state have evolved, taking on an entirely different aspect, an updated definition. Following three transitions of political power, Taiwan’s independence from China has become a majority position and the dangwai group has long become a party of government.
Even though the supposed war has ended, Cheng and her ilk continue to believe that they have a duty to safeguard Chinese nationalism and the party-state system.
Her crowd in the media and academic circles remain silent on China’s continued oppression of Taiwan, while echoing former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) capitulationist comments in newspaper articles and on TV shows, thereby jeopardizing national security.
The aggressive criticism over issues such as the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the “national team” of mask makers and the historic visit by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar shows how superficial the “Team Lisa Cheng” objections are.
Even something as simple as a photograph of Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) wearing different-colored masks to promote the work of the “national team” was ridiculed, and people who think like Cheng derided a memorandum of agreement for US-Taiwan exchanges on public health, suggesting that Azar’s trip was a waste of time if he came without a vaccine.
People like Cheng support unification with China, failing to see the good in Taiwan, but receive just treatment in a free Taiwan, allowed to vote in the same way as advocates of rectifying the name of Taiwan and writing a new constitution — even though these advocates are forwarding reasonable proposals while Team Lisa Cheng continuously seeks to sow division.
The Lisa Chengs of Taiwan are always talking the nation down. If, in this process, they harm national interests or overstep a legal red line — be it throwing paint on the portrait of a statesman at his memorial, or colluding with a hostile state and cooperating with the Chinese communists — they can always hide behind freedom of expression guarantees. How very convenient.
Chen Kuan-fu is a graduate law student at National Taipei University.
Translated by Paul Cooper
Many foreigners, particularly Germans, are struck by the efficiency of Taiwan’s administration in routine matters. Driver’s licenses, household registrations and similar procedures are handled swiftly, often decided on the spot, and occasionally even accompanied by preferential treatment. However, this efficiency does not extend to all areas of government. Any foreigner with long-term residency in Taiwan — just like any Taiwanese — would have encountered the opposite: agencies, most notably the police, refusing to accept complaints and sending applicants away at the counter without consideration. This kind of behavior, although less common in other agencies, still occurs far too often. Two cases
In a summer of intense political maneuvering, Taiwanese, whose democratic vibrancy is a constant rebuke to Beijing’s authoritarianism, delivered a powerful verdict not on China, but on their own political leaders. Two high-profile recall campaigns, driven by the ruling party against its opposition, collapsed in failure. It was a clear signal that after months of bitter confrontation, the Taiwanese public is demanding a shift from perpetual campaign mode to the hard work of governing. For Washington and other world capitals, this is more than a distant political drama. The stability of Taiwan is vital, as it serves as a key player
Yesterday’s recall and referendum votes garnered mixed results for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). All seven of the KMT lawmakers up for a recall survived the vote, and by a convincing margin of, on average, 35 percent agreeing versus 65 percent disagreeing. However, the referendum sponsored by the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on restarting the operation of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County failed. Despite three times more “yes” votes than “no,” voter turnout fell short of the threshold. The nation needs energy stability, especially with the complex international security situation and significant challenges regarding
Most countries are commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II with condemnations of militarism and imperialism, and commemoration of the global catastrophe wrought by the war. On the other hand, China is to hold a military parade. According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, Beijing is conducting the military parade in Tiananmen Square on Sept. 3 to “mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.” However, during World War II, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) had not yet been established. It
RSS