A prominent Chinese warlord and military commander of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Li Tsung-jen (李宗仁) played a significant role in shaping the history of modern China.
In the Chinese Civil War, Li served as vice president of the Republic of China under former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). After Chiang resigned in early 1949, Li became the acting president.
However, Chiang and Li differed in their political views, and their rivalry would compel Li to leave for the US. Li remained in exile until July 20, 1965, when he flew to Beijing with the support of then-Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (周恩來).
Li described his overseas exile of the previous 16 years by saying that he constantly thought about China and its leadership by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and then-Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) under the banner of socialism. Li praised the CCP for uplifting China and said he would like to devote the rest of his life to his country. He said that his commitment to China was manifest, hoping that his return to the motherland was not too late.
Li degraded himself with that statement and should have faced a reckoning for singing the praises of the CCP.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle on Saturday last week, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) should be trusted. While in office, Ma prevented military procurements 69 times and reduced the length of compulsory military service. Both measures have weakened Taiwan’s defensive capabilities. Meanwhile, Ma has praised the CCP’s achievements in public. These are the proof of allegiance that Ma has presented to China.
The identities and positions of Li and Ma are not necessarily comparable. Yet, they both have embraced China. They sell out not only their compatriots, but also their own souls. In this respect, Li and Ma are birds of a feather.
In August 1955, Li discussed his stance on the Taiwan issue publicly in the US. He emphasized that the issue should be considered an internal affair of China and hence handled by Chinese themselves. Li eventually decided to fly to Beijing and commit himself to the CCP. It is said that Li even asked Mao to make him a sub-national leader on the pretext of making a greater contribution to China. Three years later, Li died of duodenal cancer in Beijing aged 78.
Clearly, after Li announced his political views in the US, he and the CCP started discussing the terms of his return to Beijing. Ma has repeatedly broadcasts that his political opinions that are in line with the CCP. Meanwhile, Ma’s bannermen have shuttled back and forth between China and Taiwan. Li’s and Ma’s stories share many similarities. Coincidence? We will see.
Yu Kung is a Taiwanese entrepreneur working in China.
Translated by Emma Liu
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry gives it a strategic advantage, but that advantage would be threatened as the US seeks to end Taiwan’s monopoly in the industry and as China grows more assertive, analysts said at a security dialogue last week. While the semiconductor industry is Taiwan’s “silicon shield,” its dominance has been seen by some in the US as “a monopoly,” South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University academic Kwon Seok-joon said at an event held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In addition, Taiwan lacks sufficient energy sources and is vulnerable to natural disasters and geopolitical threats from China, he said.
After reading the article by Hideki Nagayama [English version on same page] published in the Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Wednesday, I decided to write this article in hopes of ever so slightly easing my depression. In August, I visited the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan, to attend a seminar. While there, I had the chance to look at the museum’s collections. I felt extreme annoyance at seeing that the museum had classified Taiwanese indigenous peoples as part of China’s ethnic minorities. I kept thinking about how I could make this known, but after returning
What value does the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hold in Taiwan? One might say that it is to defend — or at the very least, maintain — truly “blue” qualities. To be truly “blue” — without impurities, rejecting any “red” influence — is to uphold the ideology consistent with that on which the Republic of China (ROC) was established. The KMT would likely not object to this notion. However, if the current generation of KMT political elites do not understand what it means to be “blue” — or even light blue — their knowledge and bravery are far too lacking
Taipei’s population is estimated to drop below 2.5 million by the end of this month — the only city among the nation’s six special municipalities that has more people moving out than moving in this year. A city that is classified as a special municipality can have three deputy mayors if it has a population of more than 2.5 million people, Article 55 of the Local Government Act (地方制度法) states. To counter the capital’s shrinking population, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) held a cross-departmental population policy committee meeting on Wednesday last week to discuss possible solutions. According to Taipei City Government data, Taipei’s