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.
On Sept. 3 in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled out a parade of new weapons in PLA service that threaten Taiwan — some of that Taiwan is addressing with added and new military investments and some of which it cannot, having to rely on the initiative of allies like the United States. The CCP’s goal of replacing US leadership on the global stage was advanced by the military parade, but also by China hosting in Tianjin an August 31-Sept. 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which since 2001 has specialized
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to weaken Taiwan’s sovereignty, going as far as to create complete falsehoods. That the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan is an objective fact. To refute this, Beijing has tried to assert “jurisdiction” over Taiwan, pointing to its military exercises around the nation as “proof.” That is an outright lie: If the PRC had jurisdiction over Taiwan, it could simply have issued decrees. Instead, it needs to perform a show of force around the nation to demonstrate its fantasy. Its actions prove the exact opposite of its assertions. A
A large part of the discourse about Taiwan as a sovereign, independent nation has centered on conventions of international law and international agreements between outside powers — such as between the US, UK, Russia, the Republic of China (ROC) and Japan at the end of World War II, and between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since recognition of the PRC as the sole representative of China at the UN. Internationally, the narrative on the PRC and Taiwan has changed considerably since the days of the first term of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic
RSS