Hsu Pai-yueh (徐柏岳), a retired air force officer known as Taiwan’s “Eagle Dad” (鷹爸), in a Line chat group of former colleagues stood up to oppose communism and support the recall of unworthy Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, and was kicked out of the group.
That reminds me of the time when I was kicked off a teachers’ group chat for supporting pension reform. It seems all it takes to be “deep blue” is to exclude those with differing views.
Chiu Wei-pang (丘衛邦), an 87-year-old retired major general who angrily denounced the KMT as having become the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “lapdog,” called for a recall to purge Taiwan of its pro-CCP legislators. In him, I see much of my late father, who was a retired colonel.
My father fought in the Chinese Civil War and served as a group leader within the KMT throughout his entire life. I recently visited his grave at Five Finger Mountain (五指山) for Tomb Sweeping Day. If he were still alive, I have no doubt that he would be absolutely furious to see the KMT reduced to nothing but the CCP’s pro-communist lapdog. I know he would have avidly supported the recall movement.
I was raised in a military dependents’ village, or juan cun (眷村), and trained to become a teacher. In 1989, as a young woman who was just beginning her career, I saw the charred remains of a staircase near the school where I taught — the site where democracy advocate Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), an idealistic intellectual, had self-immolated rather than be taken by KMT authorities. From that moment on, I knew I was a daughter of Taiwan. I committed myself completely to the cause of democratization.
At the time, there were only three government-approved television channels — the so-called “old three” (老三台) — so we relied on underground networks, known as the “fourth channel” (第四台), to break through the barriers to free speech. Today, we face a new threat: The KMT and the CCP are joining hands in an attempt to control Taiwan. As that red tide continues to infiltrate our nation, one has to ask — do Taiwanese have any room for self-preservation?
While the Chinese military conducted military exercises around Taiwan, KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) visited China to meet with a Henan official, saying the KMT would uphold the so-called “1992 consensus.”
Meanwhile, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) told Taiwanese to trust Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) on Friday last week led a 30-person delegation of young Taiwanese to China’s Shandong Province for a cross-strait Confucius ceremony. Is a KMT that has completely given up anti-communism truly one in which we can place our trust? Only through recalls can the party start anew.
True-blue supporters must rise and every citizen must take a stand. With anti-communism as our unifying principle, we must unite as one to eliminate internal traitors and restore the normal functioning of the legislature. Collective silence now would lead Taiwan into the abyss of totalitarian dictatorship.
The latest Freedom in the World report in February said it all: Taiwan scored 94 points — China just 9. Can Taiwanese truly accept being ruled by a regime that stands in such stark contrast to our hard-won democracy?
The second wave of recalls is underway — please take action and stand up for our country.
Chu Meng-hsiang is a former deputy secretary-general of the Lee Teng-hui Foundation.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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