It appears that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has gone insane. Its derangement is such that it ignores an external threat to maintain an obvious fantasy. The threat is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the KMT’s long-time enemy and the foe of all freedom-loving people in Taiwan, whereas the KMT fantasy refers to the party’s blind adherence to an outdated Republic of China Constitution in the hope that doing so will help the KMT hold on to what remains of its political power. Moreover, the CCP can see that the KMT has lost its grip on reality, and is setting a trap to gain control of Taiwan.
What made the KMT go mad? According to former presidential adviser Peng Ming-min (彭明敏), the KMT’s recent psychosis could be explained by its loss of power in 2000 to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a pro-independence party that the KMT had previously outlawed and whose leaders it had jailed.
The KMT had assumed that power over Taiwan would be in its hands forever, just as it had assumed in the past that it would control all of China in perpetuity. Psychologically, the KMT’s loss to the DPP in 2000 finally drove home to the KMT the fact that it had actually lost China many years before and had been living a myth ever since. After losing the absolute power it had held for 55 years through its one-party dictatorship, KMT officials felt insulted and desperate, with Peng saying they acted as if they were on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Like any person whose sense of reality is shattered, the party lashed out in all directions, trying to impeach the president and block all DPP policies, even if they involved buying the arms that the KMT could not get enough of in the 1980s and 1990s, and even turning to the CCP for help. The KMT blocked legislation and refused any attempt at national reconciliation. In 2004, when it lost to the DPP again, its leaders refused to accept defeat and initiated a broad series of street protests that paralyzed politics at the expense of the nation.
As a side effect of losing power to the DPP, many in the KMT began to increasingly feel they were on the losing side of a battle against the CCP for freedom and decided to cut their losses. The most striking example of this involves former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), who initiated an annual KMT-CCP summit in 2005 following his second defeat by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Seeing its enemy thus weakened, the CCP welcomed KMT envoys with open arms, red carpets and promises of economic gifts, true friendship and everlasting peace between brothers. The KMT fell for this hook, line and sinker. The CCP-KMT summits led to meetings between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, which have resulted in the nearly inevitable economic absorption of Taiwan by China.
Back in power, the KMT is willing to do anything to stay there, Peng says. However, the party should read the analysis of Richard Fisher, a senior fellow on Asian military affairs at the Washington-based International Assessment and Strategy Center, of China’s latest defense white paper before relying on the CCP for help. Fisher says the CCP makes it clear in the paper that it wants the KMT to initiate political negotiations toward reunification immediately and that it is using a strategy of economic sweeteners to divide and conquer Taiwan.
In its insanity, the KMT has turned to the CCP to regain power in Taiwan and hopes the Communists will help it hold on to power. However, the KMT is checkmating itself and could lose whatever political control it retains.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
Earlier signs suggest that US President Donald Trump’s policy on Taiwan is set to move in a more resolute direction, as his administration begins to take a tougher approach toward America’s main challenger at the global level, China. Despite its deepening economic woes, China continues to flex its muscles, including conducting provocative military drills off Taiwan, Australia and Vietnam recently. A recent Trump-signed memorandum on America’s investment policy was more about the China threat than about anything else. Singling out the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a foreign adversary directing investments in American companies to obtain cutting-edge technologies, it said
The recent termination of Tibetan-language broadcasts by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a significant setback for Tibetans both in Tibet and across the global diaspora. The broadcasts have long served as a vital lifeline, providing uncensored news, cultural preservation and a sense of connection for a community often isolated by geopolitical realities. For Tibetans living under Chinese rule, access to independent information is severely restricted. The Chinese government tightly controls media and censors content that challenges its narrative. VOA and RFA broadcasts have been among the few sources of uncensored news available to Tibetans, offering insights
“If you do not work in semiconductors, you are nothing in this country.” That is what an 18-year-old told me after my speech at the Kaohsiung International Youth Forum. It was a heartbreaking comment — one that highlights how Taiwan ignores the potential of the creative industry and the soft power that it generates. We all know what an Asian nation can achieve in that field. Japan led the way decades ago. South Korea followed with the enormous success of “hallyu” — also known as the Korean wave, referring to the global rise and spread of South Korean culture. Now Thailand
RSS