Chu must rein in Ma
Writing on his Facebook page on Thursday last week, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of making Taiwan devolve into an “illiberal democracy.” He also praised Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for talking about democracy, which Ma said was heading in the right direction to build a society based on the rule of law.
The DPP in response accused Ma of misleading the public and acting like a fool on the world stage, all for the sake of political manipulation and raising his profile. The DPP said that his remarks must be especially embarrassing for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) during his visit to the US.
Can Ma be unaware that Taiwan’s democratization, liberalization and progress in the rule of law, which safeguards human rights, are well known around the world? Taiwan is near the top in all international rankings. In contrast, Xi’s China does everything in its power to restrict freedom and democracy, so it is always near the bottom in those rankings. There is such a huge gap between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait that even KMT supporters can hardly accept Ma’s assertion that Taiwan has devolved into an “illiberal democracy.”
China has long been trampling on human rights and the spirit of the rule of law. It has throttled the democratic developments of Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and uses every opportunity to belittle and suppress Taiwan in the international arena. Its warplanes constantly intrude over the Taiwan Strait, and it longs to invade Taiwan by force. Does Ma really think these actions by Xi’s China are going in the right direction?
For example, Taiwan allows people to go around waving China’s five-star red flag and call for unification. How does Ma think people would be treated in China if they preached about how Taiwan’s future should be decided by the Taiwanese themselves and how Taiwanese independence should be respected as an important option, or if they were to raise the Republic of China national flag or sing its national anthem in public?
Why did Ma write what he wrote? Is it because he did not get enough sleep, or because he took the wrong pill or just because he was pro-China to begin with? It is hard to know, but his remarks are certainly a big headache for the KMT. Chu, as the guy in charge, must do something about it.
Chen An-wen
New Taipei City
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