The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday called on China to stop using culture to wage political warfare, after Taipei City Councilor Lin Liang-chun (林亮君) called out the group Small Yi Hanfu (小義子漢服) for using Taipei’s Confucius Temple to film a video with strong “united front” rhetoric.
The group in June last year won a bid to rent part of the temple’s Minglun Hall for NT$15,000 per month to promote Confucianism and traditional Han clothing styles, Lin said.
The group shot a video featuring the temple during last year’s Dragon Boat Festival promoting this year’s cross-strait Han traditional clothing event, which contained significant “united front” language, Lin said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei City Councilor Lin Liang-chun
The group traveled to Xiamen on a journey “seeking their roots” and was interviewed by state-affiliated television network Xiamen Star (廈門衛視), , Lin said, adding that it planned to hold a “Taiwan Hanfu Festival” near the Red House in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area in November.
MAC Deputy Minister Shen Yu-chung (沈有忠) yesterday said that as elections draw near, China is stepping up its efforts to interfere with similar events.
Taiwan’s government has not changed its stance, and maintains that such events should be depoliticized and conducted in a healthy and orderly manner, Shen said.
Commenting on the Confucius Temple incident, Shen said that culture and artifacts should be neutral, adding that Taiwan is a culturally diverse nation, and such activities should not become a tool for political ideology.
Beijing uses institutions such as the Confucius Institute or traditional Han clothing to spread its political message, which is antithetical to the inclusiveness of Chinese culture, Shen said.
Taiwan would refute any act by the Chinese Communist Party to use culture as the basis of political interference, Shen said.
The greatest difference between China and Taiwan is their political systems, not their culture and language, Shen said, adding that as long as China attempts to maintain its authoritarian rule, it would be difficult to promote cross-strait dialogue.
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