Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) wants Taiwan to follow in Macau’s footsteps in terms of its relationship with China and help Beijing embed its cultural narrative in Taiwanese society, Taiwanese democracy advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲) said yesterday.
Lee made the comment after Cheng said, “let Taiwanese be proud to say, ‘I am Chinese,’” and that “Beijing does not want to turn Taiwan into a second Hong Kong.”
In the eyes of Beijing, Macau’s “one country, two systems” model works better than Hong Kong’s, Lee said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Beijing infiltrated all levels of Macau’s society through years of cultural indoctrination, making it indistinguishable from Chinese society by the time it was handed over to China, Lee said.
Macau’s experience offers insight into the actions of Cheng and the KMT, especially her attendance on Saturday at an event honoring people killed during the White Terror, including Communist spy Wu Shi (吳石), he said.
The event aligned with Beijing’s viewpoint, as it honored Wu as a “martyr” and included a special article commemorating him, Lee added.
Cheng’s remarks, such as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator and commenting on China’s celebration of Taiwan Retrocession Day, showed the party is increasingly aligning with Beijing’s narratives, Lee said.
Cheng and today’s KMT resemble Chinese community organizations in pre-handover Macau, which fully cooperated with China, he said.
Under the banner of “cross-strait peace,” they seek to embed China’s historical, cultural and educational narratives into Taiwanese society, even though those narratives go against the KMT’s past, he added.
These people want to help China replicate the Macau system of governance in Taiwan, allowing Chinese culture and history to take root, Lee said, adding that the KMT, through its legislative majority, hopes to change the educational system to make Taiwanese identify with Chinese culture and believe they are Chinese.
If the KMT under Cheng takes power in 2028, it would signal to the world that Taiwanese are Chinese and that cross-strait relations are China’s internal affairs, making Taiwan’s unification with China inevitable, he said.
Cheng aims to place Taiwan into China’s hands without any conflict, like Macau, Lee said.
As Cheng gains more control of the KMT with China’s help, those within the party who still advocate for the Republic of China would slowly disappear, Lee added.
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