Exiled Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan (王丹) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communication Committee deputy director Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) yesterday engaged in a war of words after Hu chided Wang for saying “there will not be Taiwanese independence without bloodshed.”
Wang, a student leader in the pro-democracy protests in Beijing in the spring of 1989, in a Facebook post marking the 28th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre on Saturday called on Taiwanese independence advocates to stop advocating independence if they are not prepared to shed blood, otherwise their words would only amount to “verbal masturbation.”
Hu yesterday commended Wang for “speaking the truth,” but criticized him for the timing of the remark, as Wang, who has spent eight years in Taiwan, is scheduled to leave for the US next month.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Wang has “milked” his “charmed life” in Taiwan “for all it was worth” and only spoke the truth before “abandoning” Taiwan, Hu said.
Wang said on Facebook that the KMT had deliberately misinterpreted his words.
The “bloodshed” remark was meant to encourage younger generations to fight for independence, but also act as a reminder that they should be prepared to pay a price, Wang said.
He dismissed Hu’s remarks about him living a high life in Taiwan only to abandon it.
Wang compared Hu’s words to propaganda by China’s Internet trolls, calling them “vulgar.”
He urged the KMT to “mind its own business,” saying that countless Republic of China soldiers were killed by the Chinese Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War, but instead of avenging them, the KMT has played second fiddle to Beijing.
The KMT lost its reign over China and repeated its mistake after it retreated to Taiwan, he said.
“If I were the KMT, I would have dug a hole in the ground and jumped in. How come you still have the audacity to accuse others?” Wang said. “Spokesman Hu, how shameless you are.”
Hu yesterday said he is not ashamed of “stating the facts.”
Citing a list pan-green camp politicians that have also criticized Wang’s “bloodshed” remark, he said the antipathy toward the remark had crossed party lines.
The best “revenge” the KMT can have is to promote the teachings of the democracy pioneers who died during the war and pass on Taiwan’s democratic values to all Chinese, Hu said.
Wang’s remark that the KMT should take revenge on China shows that he is not well-versed in democracy and that his thoughts have progressed little since 1989, Hu said.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS