Sat, Jul 16, 2005 page8

• KMT still dominated by foreign elements

  • By David Ming 敏洪奎
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  The race between Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship is entering its final stage.

  The question of whether or not the KMT is a party that only represents Mainlanders has recently become a topic of heated discussion.

  As a Mainlander living in Taiwan, I would like to provide my views on the question: The KMT is indeed a party dominated by a handful of narrow-minded, obstinate and repulsive Mainlanders. Although the KMT rank- and-file is mainly composed of Hoklo and Hakka, it is still considered by many of them a party that belongs solely to Mainlanders.

  During the political unrest following last year's presidential election, the mob supportive of the pan-blue camp lingered on Ketagalan Boulevard for weeks and targeted the KMT's Hoklo political figures for verbal abuse and intimidation.

  Even though he is the legislative speaker and KMT vice-chairman, Wang was physically threatened, an indication of how this group of people looks down on the Taiwanese and how antagonistic they are toward the Hoklo.

  It was a similar situation when Han Chinese served as government officials during the reign of the Qing Dynasty. Despite their high position, they were regarded by the Manchu as no more than stooges.

  In all honesty, this clique of people directing the KMT have cast a spell over the foolish Mainlanders, mesmerizing them to uphold the "Republic of China" and a "Chinese nation."

  But what really baffles me is that there are still a large number of Hoklo willing to cast their ballots to support a political party that is fundamentally antagonistic to them.

  Wang is more capable of maintaining the party as one that is able to represent the will of the party's entire membership. If Ma wins the election with the support of most of the Mainlander KMT veterans, he will never be able to shake off the party's stereotyped image of being a Mainlander's party.

  Once I read a book dealing with British people living in Singapore who fell in love with the nation.

  After Singapore declared independence, these British people, some of whom even served as government officials during the colonial period, chose to stay there and became Singaporeans.

  When the British were ruling India, quite a few appeared haughty and superior.

  However, many of them also developed an affection and love for the nation and began to dedicate themselves to studies of the hydrology of the Ganges River, the Himalayas and Sanskrit. Some of the British public servants and soldiers even localized their eating habits and lifestyles and considered India their second home without feeling disgraced.

  Although the degree to which British people identified themselves with India may have differed from person to person, they were not antagonistic to the country in which they chose to live.

  We wonder then: how come Mainlanders who fled to Taiwan more than half a century ago still despise the people who cared for them and distance themselves from the sovereign nation that has been sheltering them?

  While electing the next party chairman, KMT members should elect the candidate who can truly represent Taiwan, rather than one who continues to oppose Taiwanese independence and projects an image as a foreign but superior being.

  David Ming is a political commentator and author of Heartfelt Wishes of a Citizen.

  Translated by Daniel Cheng
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