The recent enthusiasm for revisionism in Taiwan is a reminder that the nation's democracy is still in its infancy. At the same time, it is a sign of vigor.
In the latest edition of history textbooks for high school students, Sun Yat-sen (
This change to a 60-year-old practice was inspired by more than just the realization that Sun's position in Taiwanese history is a result of concerted efforts by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Rather, it's recognition of the fact that much of what is ailing Taiwanese politics today can be traced back to the KMT's attempts to glorify the occupation of Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek (
In fact, the new depiction of Sun is just one part of the first significant overhaul of high school textbooks in an attempt to make them more Taiwan-centric. The revamp's purpose of bringing education more in line with the political reality in a country where three direct presidential elections have taken place in the last dozen years should not overshadow its significance in the overall scheme of decolonization of Taiwan. The outcry from former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
There were years when these colonialists -- disavowed by their home country and severed from their homeland -- were left without much hope of ever being able to fulfill their dreams of returning home in triumph. At one point, late president Chiang Ching-kuo (
But the visits by former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) to Beijing nearly two years ago changed everything. The pact Lien made with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) rekindled the dormant colonial sentiment in diehard Chiang followers.
This rekindled hope is the real reason why Ma and the KMT are so resistant to the idea of a new constitution and continue to drag their feet on arms procurement -- they dream of one day unifying with China.
It also helps to explain the pan-blue legislative coalition's fondness for coffer-busting measures such as the 18 percent interest rate on public employee pensions and the NT$40 billion (US$1.21 million) package of largesse for veterans.
Ma's claims that the KMT's stolen assets were acquired legitimately is a tacit admission that the party has always been a colonial presence.
The self-righteousness which Ma and his like exude, seemingly oblivious of how outrageous their attitudes are in the context of a modern democracy, only reinforces the idea that they live in a colonial cocoon of their own creation.
What's most astonishing is that while many are preoccupied with combating the onslaught of colonialism, former president Lee Teng-hui (
At a minimum, he appears to be on the fence.
The public would do well to realize that while individuals might vacillate when it is politically expedient to do so, democratic principles remain constant.
The removal of two paternal icons could serve to strengthen Taiwan's democracy.
Huang Jei-hsuan
California
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
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