Treason, in legal terms, is when a person is disloyal to their own nation, as opposed to their government. In the US context, Oran’s Dictionary of the Law defines treason as “the crime ... committed by a US citizen who helps a foreign government to overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the US” — again, as opposed to the US government.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) was the first Taiwanese to encourage China to unify with Taiwan by force. Appearing on Chinese television, he called for “reunification,” saying that Beijing should aim its missiles at President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), whom he described as the head of the Taiwanese independence movement.
China Unification Promotion Party founder Chang An-le (張安樂) has stated publicly that his party would form a “red” propaganda team to promote “peaceful unification” with China, including the possibility of an “armed insurrection.”
Since “traitors” of this sort have been getting away with outrageous remarks, they have set a bad precedent for others.
Earlier this month, the new media platform “Watching the Taiwan Strait” — operated by China Media Group — interviewed Golden Bell Award-winning actress Fang Fang (方芳), in which she not only declared her support for unification, she even incited China to deploy force to achieve its ends.
“Sometimes, to discipline a recalcitrant and willful child, all you need to do is to slap him across the face,” she said.
During the Chinese Civil War, Fang’s foster father, a general, would have been exposed to the atrocities and ruthlessness of the Chinese Communist Party forces. He must had been a remarkable figure to have been able to survive the battles and retreat to Taiwan with former president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣中正) KMT troops in 1949.
Chiang and his men were considered waishengren (外省人) — those who came from China with the KMT after the war and their offspring.
After evacuating to Taiwan, the KMT took over the government and started robbing benshengren (本省人) — people who came to Taiwan before World War II and their offspring — of their wealth and properties. The assets were used to build military dependents’ villages for the KMT troops, so that the men could settle their families in Taiwan.
In the preparation for recapturing China, Chiang’s wife Soong Mayling (宋美齡) in 1950 founded the National Women’s League, an organization that aimed to unite women to provide support and aid to frontline soldiers. The league was involved in raising funds for building military dependents’ villages; Fang was born in one of these villages in then-Taoyuan County’s Jhongli City (中壢).
In the 1950 and 1960s, when anti-communist fervor was at its height in Taiwan, any pro-China remarks would have been enough to land citizens behind bars. This makes the strength of the pro-China remarks Fang has made all the more remarkable.
Fang has been active in show business for nearly five decades. Her appearance on the “three old TV channels” — Taiwan Television, China Television and Chinese Television System — back when the KMT was in power show that she was politically shrewd enough to know which side her bread was buttered.
As the poster child for China’s “reunification” agenda, she is now denouncing Taiwan while living in China, which could perhaps turn into another “highlight” in her entertainment career.
Since Taiwan cannot hold a candle to the “Great Motherland” in Fang’s mind, the National Health Insurance program must also be of little significance to her. I suggest she become a naturalized Chinese citizen to show her undying loyalty and her desire to become Chinese.
The government should also revoke her Taiwanese citizenship given her treasonous ways, for Taiwan is not such a pushover that it will simply turn the other cheek when “slapped across the face” by one of its own citizens.
Chin Ching is an educator.
Translated by Rita Wang
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