China’s Patriotic Education Law, implemented last year, included patriotism and party loyalty in China’s legal framework, requiring unconditional loyalty rather than earning public trust, a Taiwanese academic said.
Since the law’s implementation more than a year ago, China’s local governments have promoted events and education centered around party loyalty, patriotism and socialism, National Cheng Kung University political science professor Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富) wrote in an article published in the Mainland Affairs Council’s latest briefing.
Beijing has also amplified narratives about anti-China forces interfering in domestic affairs, particularly regarding Taiwan, democracy, human rights and governance systems, he said.
Photo: Bloomberg
China uses patriotism as a tool to rationalize nationalism, he said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party justifies its actions by calling them “patriotic,” and combines nationalism with national interests.
Actions by nationalists online, including xenophobic statements, boycotting foreign products and promoting national brands, are glorified as expressions of patriotism and party loyalty by the public and government officials, Hung said.
The prevalence of xenophobia in Chinese society has manifested in attacks on foreigners, Hung added.
For example, four American teachers on June 11 last year were attacked in Jilin Province by a man with anti-US sentiments. On Sept. 28 last year, a 10-year-old Japanese boy was attacked on his way to the Shenzhen Japanese school and died from the injuries at a hospital. Then there was the Chinese man who on Oct. 1 spoke of party loyalty and patriotism before attacking three five-year-old children in Zurich, Switzerland.
Those tragic events show how China’s narrow nationalist ideology and patriotic education has fueled violent xenophobic sentiments, Hung said.
The Patriotic Education Law integrates party loyalty, patriotism and socialism into China’s legal framework, rather than being limited to propaganda, he said.
That “trinity” put forth by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is captured by the slogan “listen to the party, thank the party and follow the party (聽黨話，感黨恩，跟黨走),” he added.
China is so focused on cultivating patriotism that it largely neglects public welfare, such as providing necessary services, including medicine, employment, education and housing, Hung said.
The Chinese government should focus on people’s needs and earn the public’s trust through concrete action, rather than requiring them to be unconditionally loyal and patriotic, he said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS