Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan (王丹) stirred debate recently over his suspicions that Chinese students may be “conducting organized activities” on college campuses in Taiwan.
In his latest post on Facebook, Wang said he raised the matter because he wanted to remind Taiwanese that this was now taking place in their country.
Wang, who is a guest lecturer at Chengchi University’s Graduate Institute of Taiwan History, gave a speech at Providence University in Taichung on Thursday titled “How to See the Real China.” During the two-hour event, a group of Chinese students studying in Taiwan challenged Wang, a student leader during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
After the incident, Wang alleged that the students had planned to do this on his Facebook page.
Liao Jui-ming (廖瑞銘), an associate professor at the university’s Department of Taiwanese Literature who attended the event, said that while the students might have been within their rights to challenge Wang, the manner in which they did so highlighted their poor understanding of democracy vis-a-vis their Taiwanese counterparts.
A video of the incident shows some Chinese students repeatedly questioning the content of Wang’s speech, which addressed, among other subjects, dishonesty and cynicism in Chinese society.
They accused him of being unfair to the Chinese people because of his hatred for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
On his Facebook page, Wang said the incident didn’t look like individual behavior.
“Doesn’t the thought of Chinese students engaging in organized activity on Taiwanese campuses give you the chills?” Wang asked.
Wang said he was not making sensational comments to scare the public, adding that student council president at University of Hong Kong, who had previously made comments to the effect that there was no such thing as a Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, 1989, was elected following organized voting by Chinese students.
“Taiwanese should take note of these things and not be too naive,” Wang said.
Liao said the 70 students who attended the speech were free to ask questions. However, few Taiwanese students were able to do so, as the Chinese students dominated the session. He said that while Wang might have been slightly intimidated by the scene, the atmosphere actually wasn’t too bad.
Wang said the Taiwanese students were too “mild,” while thanking the Chinese students for the “shock” after his speech.
Some Taiwanese students in the audience said they didn’t think the atmosphere was intense at the time, adding that although the comments made by the Chinese students were sharp, they stemmed from nationalist sentiment and were nothing to worry about.
Replying to a question by a Chinese student, Wang “alerted” Taiwanese students by asking them if they felt that the Chinese students had come “prepared.”
Wen Tsung-han (溫忠翰), a student at the Institute of Taiwan History in charge of receiving Wang at the event on Thursday, said that about 10 Chinese students attended the speech, seven of whom were seated in the front row.
They took notes diligently and adopted a strong tone in their questions. Some remarks were unfriendly, Wen said.
Wen said the possibility of “professional students” never crossed his mind.
Wang said his initial reaction was to assume that the Chinese students had perhaps not heard different views on the massacre, which would explain their strong reaction to his criticism of China. Only afterwards did it dawn on him that something “wasn’t right,” he said.
Liao said Wang’s warning to Taiwanese students was well-intended and added that the Taiwanese in the audience had displayed great respect for differences of opinion during the event.
When a Taiwanese student asked Wang about China’s progress on democracy, Liao said, the student took a moment to send “his regards” to a Chinese student who had spoken before him, saying that “the student from China loves his motherland very much. I also love my motherland very much, but I do not love China.”
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees