On Wednesday, as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) led his delegation to China's tomb for Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) to pay their respects, repeatedly ingratiating himself with his Chinese hosts, a report on Voice of America said that a movement to reconstitute the KMT had appeared in China because of dissatisfaction with the party's China-friendliness and the Lien-led delegation.
According to a report on the Web site of the US-based Huanghuagang Magazine, representatives of secret societies and organizations from 17 Chinese provinces met before Sun's tomb in Nanjing on April 23, where they swore to reconstitute the KMT.
Quoting this report, the Voice of America reported on Wednesday that a statement by the "reconstituted KMT" claimed that secret societies and organizations throughout China had planned to reconstitute the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, a precursor to the KMT, on Aug. 20, the 100th anniversary of the alliance's formation. On that day, they had also planned to call for a peaceful republican revolution and an end to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) dictatorship.
The report said, however, that because the KMT in Taiwan had become more friendly toward the CCP in recent years -- something that had "disappointed the Chinese people which had pinned intense hopes on the KMT for over 50 years" -- they had decided to move the occasion forward.
According to the report, members of the secret societies and organizations expressed their opposition to Lien's visit to China.
This revelation is highly significant. Lien thinks he represents the KMT orthodoxy in his visit to China, which he calls a "journey of peace." He is trying to create an atmosphere conducive to a third round of CCP-KMT cooperation by offering Taiwan as a tribute to the Communists.
In doing so, he violates not only the interests of the Taiwanese people, but also the righteous people inside China who oppose dictatorship. After founding the People's Republic of China, the CCP implemented a socialist dictatorship and executed political purges and political struggles, causing tens of millions to die in natural and man-made disasters.
It is truly a regime for whom power derives from the barrel of a gun, and it possesses not a shred of legitimacy or legality. It is precisely because the CCP's rule has not been approved by the Chinese people that it has been forced to hide its socialism behind a facade of nationalism and a wave of nationalist xenophobia in an attempt to divert domestic dissatisfaction.
Apart from minor improvements to the people's livelihood in recent years, CCP rule has meant widespread suppression of freedom, democracy and human rights. This has led to widespread indignation and discontent, and the will to resist is growing to the point where it may explode.
Today, Lien is making a mockery of Taiwanese democracy by ignoring the rules of the democratic game and meeting with the leaders of the CCP's dictatorship to dispel past grudges -- all with a smile on his face. This is a major blow to China's democracy movement. Small wonder, then, that Lien's visit to China has led to a reaction from dissatisfied forces inside China and the drive to reconstitute the KMT in China.
On arrival, Lien was in his element, with red carpet treatment and a warm welcome. But it seems to have slipped his mind that he had once considered the People's Republic of China to be a barbaric state and that the communists were a bunch of usurpers. Instead, he said it was regrettable that the meeting had been so long in coming.
For anyone who believes in democracy and freedom, a government that oppresses its people at home and has military ambitions abroad should surely be kept at arm's length. So what is Lien talking about when he says that a reunion was long overdue? Surely he couldn't be hoping that Taiwan should have fallen into the clutches of China some time ago?
Even more laughable is the fact that when Lien visited Sun's tomb, he quoted Sun's dying words, which called on the people not to forget "peace, striving and saving China." Sun's words should be understood in their context, and Lien's quoting them in this way not only disregards the historical reality, but also misrepresents their original meaning.
Today, China and Taiwan are different countries. The questions of whether China needs to be saved and how to go about this are matters that have little to do with Taiwanese people. It is China that is the primary offender in the current cross-strait crisis, and the salient issue is how to "save Taiwan," not China.
Put simply, the most pressing issues right now are how to save Taiwan from being trampled by the communist dictators in Beijing; how to prevent Taiwan's economy from being sucked dry by China; how to protect the democracy, freedom and way of life of Taiwanese people from China's destructive intentions; and how to maintain Taiwan's sovereignty and independence in the face of this aggression.
Since Lien characterized this journey as a "journey of peace," and since he has used Sun's own words, he should have had the courage to set the record straight when he met Chinese President Hu Jintao (
But he didn't have the courage.
Given that the KMT lost power under his leadership, Lien is neither returning decked out in riches and the trappings of success, nor is he bringing glory to his ancestors. As far as he is concerned, personal glory and a gift of pandas are worth more than the security and welfare of 23 million Taiwanese.
And as far as democracy activists in China are concerned, Lien is nothing but the lackey of the powers-that-be, a man who has succeeded in making democratic reform more difficult. With this trip, Lien will not only fail to make a contribution to history, he will come to be known as the enemy of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Translated by Perry Svensson and Paul Cooper
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