Not long ago, yet another piece of fake news made the rounds on the Internet, as someone tried to slander Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) in an attempt to destroy Taiwan and Japan’s friendship.
On Sept. 4, retired police officer Li Chun-jui (酈俊睿) — better known as Tiaozi Ge (條子鴿), literally “cop dove” — hinted in a Facebook post that during Hsieh’s term as premier, Li caught Hsieh’s son running a red light, and later received two admonitions from his supervisor for not dropping the matter.
Fanned on by people with ulterior motives, the misinformation went viral in a bid to keep Hsieh preoccupied before the election of a new Japanese prime minister late this month.
Luckily, this dirty trick has been revealed to all, as the groundless claim was full of flaws and the lie quickly exposed, causing the scheme to fail.
This fabricated story was reminiscent of previous attempts to discredit Taiwanese diplomats in Japan. In September 2018, a Chinese Internet user posted misinformation used by some Taiwanese in an online attack on Hsieh and his subordinates. Faced with strong public criticism from Taiwan, Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠), who was director-general of the Osaka branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, committed suicide.
Taiwan does not seem to have learned its lesson from that event. Today, these dark forces have turned from bad to worse, constantly chiming in with Beijing and making every effort to destroy Taiwan-Japan ties.
These forces bear a hatred for Hsieh and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) for promoting the nations’ friendship. Their opposition to Lee led some Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians to leave and form the New Party. The retired police officer who started the online rumor about Hsieh works for a Taipei City councilor from the New Party, while that city councilor was prosecuted on charges of spying for China.
The New Party’s platform runs against mainstream opinion and, as a result, it is set to fold. Having failed to crush Lee, the party is eager to crush Hsieh. It is waiting for an opportunity to act, and the same rumors pop up whenever there is a breakthrough in Taiwan-Japan ties.
Hsieh is the only representative to Japan who rose through the political ranks as an elected official. As a result, he tends to be more flexible, empathetic and friendly toward Taiwanese living in Japan. He is proficient at building diplomatic alliances, and has no difficulty communicating with local and national officials in Japan, including Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Regular contact and exchanges between civic groups in Taiwan and Japan have created a virtuous circle. Unprecedented Taiwan-Japan ties have upset China, and pro-communist dark forces in Taiwan have become worried. To curry favor with their Chinese master, they are working hard to sabotage Taiwan-Japan relations. No wonder they see Hsieh as a thorn in their side to be removed.
Wang Hui-sheng is chief director of the Kisai Ladies’ and Children’s Hospital in Japan.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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