The German Institute Taipei yesterday expressed its “deep disappointment and concern” after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) compared the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to Nazi Germany.
At a meeting of the KMT’s Central Standing Committee on Wednesday, Chu drew parallels between the DPP under President William Lai (賴清德) and the fascism of Germany under Adolf Hitler and Italy under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.
The comments came a day before the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender in World War II, memorialized in some nations as Victory in Europe Day.
Photo: CNA
Lai claims to uphold democracy, but is using judicial means to “eliminate” the opposition with the goal of becoming a dictator, just like the Nazis manipulated legal procedures to dismantle democracy and eliminate dissent in pre-war Germany, Chu said.
Chu was referring to the questioning of several KMT staffers and searches of KMT offices by prosecutors over alleged petition fraud in recall campaigns against DPP politicians.
In an English-language post on Facebook, the German Institute Taipei said: “We must state unequivocally: Taiwan today is in no way comparable to the tyranny of National Socialism [the Nazi Party].”
Photo courtesy of the Democratic Progressive Party
“We respectfully call on the KMT leadership to refrain from invoking inappropriate and historically insensitive comparisons in domestic political discourse,” it said.
Chu yesterday told reporters that foreign governments should not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations, adding that his comparison was legitimate given Lai’s “persecution” of the opposition.
“History teaches us a vital lesson: While democracies may give rise to fascism, fascism always destroys democracy, tramples human rights and devastates societies,” Chu wrote on Facebook.
“[The KMT] will continue to defend the constitutional democracy of the Republic of China and work alongside all freedom-loving people to ensure that Taiwan’s future remains free from oppression by those in power,” Chu added.
The Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei said that Chu’s comments were extremely offensive and unacceptable to the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust and the survivors.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺) said that Chu’s analogy was inappropriate.
Chen said the government is going to explain to every European country’s office in Taipei that “this is not the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.”
Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that Chu’s comments were inappropriate, as he should not compare prosecutors’ investigations to genocide.
Department of European Affairs Deputy-Director Lin Chu-en (林主恩) said the Nazi’s extreme ideology led to genocide and ethnic cleansing, and that was a part of Germany’s painful history.
The painful history of authoritarian rule, colonial rule, war or military conflict experienced by other nations should not be used politically, Department of Human Rights and Transitional Justice Director Lai Chun-chao (賴俊兆) said.
DPP Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) called on Chu to apologize not only to Germany, but also the public for his comments, saying that Nazis should not be invoked as “political rhetoric” or “election fodder.”
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan, Fang Wei-li,
Hsieh Chun-lin, Shih Hsiao-kuang, Chung Li-hua and Fion Khan
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