New Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) tomorrow is expected to attend an annual memorial honoring victims of the White Terror era, including the highest-ranking communist spy uncovered within the KMT government in 1950, event organizers said today.
The event is to commemorate the Ministry of National Defense’s then-deputy chief of the general staff, Lieutenant General Wu Shi (吳石), who was executed after being found to have worked as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the White Terror era.
Wu allegedly passed along critical intelligence on KMT troop deployments in southeast China, southern China and Taiwan to CCP leaders starting when the KMT government was based in Nanjing, documents from the Taiwan Human Rights Memory Bank showed.
Photo: Taipei Times
He continued underground activities after arriving in Taiwan, leading to his arrest and execution, official documents showed.
The CCP hails Wu as a “martyr” and has recently promoted his story through a television drama.
The annual memorial service, organized by the Taiwan Area Political Victims Mutual Help Association, is to be held in Taipei’s Machangding Memorial Park (馬場町紀念公園), where Wu was executed.
The organizer called the park a historic site where Wu and other martyrs sacrificed their lives, expressing hope that “silent glory would no longer be silent.”
The phrase “silent glory” is used by the CCP-backed drama promoting Wu.
Cheng is expected to give a speech at the event.
The event’s theme this year is "Remembering History, Cherishing the Memory of Martyrs, Cross-Strait Solidarity, Revitalizing the Chinese Nation," according to a news release.
The event would also include a tribute by the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, which is not a Taiwanese political organization, but one of the CCP’s "democratic parties" used for “united front” work toward Taiwan.
KMT spokesperson Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) urged the public to keep an open mind, adding that the worst thing about Taiwanese politics is preconceived notions.
If Cheng decides to attend, she would give a public statement explaining her stance, Niu told reporters.
In an exclusive interview published today with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times), Executive Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Ruan Jhao-syong (阮昭雄) said it is not appropriate for the Cabinet to comment on any political parties.
However, he said that the newly elected party chair may affect the interactions between the executive branch and the legislature.
Cheng’s first move after being elected as chair was to express a desire to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he said.
She then said in a media interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator, he added.
Hostile foreign forces have intensified interference in Taiwan, as China is using every possible means, including constant incursions by aircraft and vessels, he said.
Even KMT members have acknowledged Chinese interference in their party’s recent chair election, which indicated severe external intervention, he added.
Under such grave circumstances, the executive branch needs a legal basis to implement countermeasures, he said, expressing hope that the ruling and opposition parties could work together to safeguard national security.
Cheng is also expected to attend a seminar this afternoon marking the 10th anniversary of the 2015 meeting between then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Xi.
Additional reporting by CNA
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