Anyone who embraces the values of democracy and human rights, such as myself, would strongly condemn the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for its defense of Nazi symbolism and would not help but think that the KMT has never changed its dictatorial nature.
As a legislator in the democratic country of Taiwan, I strongly condemn the KMT for praising the Nazis. That goes against universal and Taiwanese values. As a generation born after the lifting of martial law, democracy and human rights are concepts deeply rooted in our hearts. I completely disagree with the KMT’s actions. That shows that even after becoming an opposition party, the KMT has not changed its nature as a dictatorial party.
On Tuesday evening in New Taipei City, Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), a KMT member leading the campaign to recall a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator, openly gave a Nazi salute. Upon arriving at the New Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office for questioning over alleged petition forgery, Sung was wearing an armband bearing the swastika and carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, and gave the Nazi salute. That move shocked Taiwanese society.
Sung’s behavior was condemned by all sectors of Taiwan, including President William Lai (賴清德). Surprisingly, the initial reaction by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was not to condemn such action, but to defend Sung’s use of Nazi symbols as a way to protest against the government. Compared with Sung, Chu’s reaction as the head of the second-largest political party in Taiwan was more shocking.
However, for those who are familiar with Taiwan’s politics and history, Chu’s remarks might not come as a surprise. For many years, the KMT has opposed transitional justice. It is opposed to legislation and policies on transitional justice, and refuses to return ill-gotten party assets it acquired during Taiwan’s authoritarian period.
The KMT’s connivance of glorifying the Nazis has become an international incident. The German and Israeli diplomatic missions in Taiwan publicly criticized it.
Although Chu and the KMT later changed their minds and condemned the Nazis, they did not apologize for embracing them.
The values of Taiwanese are freedom, democracy and human rights. The KMT is completely unable to represent today’s society. We must strongly condemn the KMT’s indulgence in Nazi worship.
Wu Pei-yi is a Democratic Progressive Party legislator.
They did it again. For the whole world to see: an image of a Taiwan flag crushed by an industrial press, and the horrifying warning that “it’s closer than you think.” All with the seal of authenticity that only a reputable international media outlet can give. The Economist turned what looks like a pastiche of a poster for a grim horror movie into a truth everyone can digest, accept, and use to support exactly the opinion China wants you to have: It is over and done, Taiwan is doomed. Four years after inaccurately naming Taiwan the most dangerous place on
Wherever one looks, the United States is ceding ground to China. From foreign aid to foreign trade, and from reorganizations to organizational guidance, the Trump administration has embarked on a stunning effort to hobble itself in grappling with what his own secretary of state calls “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” The problems start at the Department of State. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asserted that “it’s not normal for the world to simply have a unipolar power” and that the world has returned to multipolarity, with “multi-great powers in different parts of the
President William Lai (賴清德) recently attended an event in Taipei marking the end of World War II in Europe, emphasizing in his speech: “Using force to invade another country is an unjust act and will ultimately fail.” In just a few words, he captured the core values of the postwar international order and reminded us again: History is not just for reflection, but serves as a warning for the present. From a broad historical perspective, his statement carries weight. For centuries, international relations operated under the law of the jungle — where the strong dominated and the weak were constrained. That
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
RSS