Commemoration ceremonies for the mythical “Yellow Emperor” (黃帝, Huangdi) promoted by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) are part of Beijing’s united front tactics, as it seeks to use “religious activities” to create a dubious imagined community among people across the Taiwan Strait, a Taiwanese academic said yesterday.
The TAO-run Taiwan.cn Web site yesterday published an opinion piece from the Chinese state-run **Fujian Daily** titled “Together worshipping Huangdi on Tomb Sweeping Day, people across the Taiwan Strait are connected by blood.”
In Chinese folklore, Huangdi is believed to be the progenitor of Han people.
Photo: Reuters
Several Huangdi ceremonies held in Taiwan showed that “Chinese of both sides of the Strait” share the memory and respect for the Chinese people’s ancestors, the article said.
Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富), a professor of political science at National Cheng Kung University, said the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) united front tactics do not usually stress Han identity, but it is using activities such as the Huangdi commemoration ceremonies to advocate the idea that “people on both sides of the Strait are all Chinese.”
Ceremonies that view the legendary character Huangdi as the root of the origin of Han culture are creating a dubious, imagined community among people in Taiwan, Hung said.
Through the attendance of public figures to such ceremonies — such as former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) paying tribute to Huangdi during a visit to China last year — the CCP seeks to shape the idea that the root of Taiwanese culture is in central China, Hung said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) on Monday last week attended a ceremony for Huangdi in China’s Henan Province, where he told local media that “we are all descendants of emperors Yan (炎帝) and Huang, so we should continue to have exchanges that would greatly benefit both sides of the Strait.”
TOA Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) on March 26 said that a commemoration event for Huangdi in Shaanxi Province’s Huangling County on Friday last week would include a “Taiwan compatriots root-tracing tour."
The ceremony has significant meaning for inheriting and continuing traditional Chinese culture, bolstering Taiwanese’s sense of national identity, belonging and honor, he added.
On Monday last week, Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) officiated a ceremony for Huangdi at the Emperor Temple (黃帝雷藏寺) in Taoyuan’s Luzhu District (蘆竹), which was attended by a team representing KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭).
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS