A Taiwanese group that trumpets its version of German dictator Adolf Hitler's ideals has declared its intention to register as a non-governmental organization.
Hsu Na-chi (許娜綺), the 22-year-old cofounder and spokesman of the National Socialism Association (NSA), claimed the organization has 20 paying members above the age of 20.
Many more participate on the association's forums, many under the cover of anonymity.
Writing in the NSA forum under the handle "Lahn," another founder-member of the NSA insisted the group is not neo-Nazi or racist.
"What Hitler meant by `superior race' is superior cultural content and not biological phenotype," he wrote.
Lahn Chao (
"We have too many high-school and junior-high students and not enough adults," Chao said. "We need more adults in order to qualify for NGO [non-governmental organization] status."
Chao also engages in "cosplay," striking poses in German army garb for pictures which he puts on his Web site. When asked why, despite his claims to be moderate, he still identifies with Nazi ideology, Chao said: "I like the feeling of unity of the period."
Elsewhere on the forum, however, Hsu, writing under the handle "Joshua," promulgated the treatment of immigrant workers and their offspring in terms that seemed disturbingly reminiscent of the Nazis' final solution.
"If foreign laborers have children in Taiwan, the government must exterminate them. In order to stop our genetic stock from further deterioration, strict monitoring and cruel punishments are called for," Joshua wrote.
"What the Republic of China practiced after they came to China is in essence National Socialism," Joshua wrote elsewhere. "Until [former president] LeeTeng-hui [李登輝] took over, Taiwan was wealthy, strong and united."
Hsu and Chao's group is not the only Nazi sympathizers' organization in Taiwan.
Eli Alberts was on his daily commute on the Tamshui MRT line when a smear of red and black caused him to do a double-take.
What Alberts saw was a red swastika flag hanging from a window in an apartment building near the MRT line.
"It is a very ... potent symbol. I couldn't help but notice," Alberts said. "What is it doing in Taipei?"
Alberts' friends in both the Taiwanese and expatriate community tried to reassure him by saying that the flag was probably a tasteless display of "Nazi kitsch," or that perhaps what he saw was actually a Buddhist swastika, an ancient symbol that had been in use long before the rise of Nazism.
"I know what a Buddhist swastika is," Alberts said. "I didn't think that was what I saw."
With Alberts' help, the Taipei Times located the apartment in which the Nazi flag was displayed. It was located in a gated community in Tienmu. A man in his late thirties answered the door and agreed to speak to us, on condition of anonymity.
"Hitler did a lot of bad things which I don't condone, but he also turned Germany from a weak and divided nation into a world power," he said. "I admire that because unity and strength is what Taiwan needs. Democracy and capitalism have their good qualities, but they have left our collective spirit chaotic, flagging and mired in defeatism."
These comments mirrored the rhetoric found on the NSA blog.
"We have seen relentless societal and political chaos since democracy was instituted in this country ... wake up, youths of Taiwan!" an open letter said.
However, the man claimed he had never heard of the NSA and had a view of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) legacy that was diametrically opposed to Hsu's.
"Taiwan used to be a part of the axis as a part of Japan," he said. "Who did more for Taiwan than Goto Shinpei as the governor-general?"
"When the KMT came, they were the brutal occupiers, they oppressed the Taiwanese," the man said.
Asked if he believed he would have fit in society if Taiwan were still under Japanese occupation, the man replied: "I am in contact with hard-right [sic] elements in Japan ... they all love Taiwanese people. If the KMT did not take over Taiwan, I believe that in time we would have been accepted as Japanese."
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS