Political leaders and the public alike over the weekend demonstrated a high level of civic maturity and collective respect for differences by not hesitating to condemn self-styled citizen journalist Hung Su-chu (洪素珠), who on Thursday posted a video on Facebook showing her firing insults at an elderly waishengren (外省人, Mainlander) — people who fled to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.
As opinion leaders from various sectors denounced Hung’s hateful remarks and advocated inclusiveness among people of different ethnic backgrounds, the KMT, which had previously opposed legislation to promote ethnic equality, was quick to suggest that it would soon propose a bill against ethnic discrimination and “erase hatred among people of different ethnicities and family backgrounds.”
While the party’s call for efforts against hatred and discrimination deserves applause, as does KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) remarks that “Taiwan must not be further divided by hatred,” Hung, nonetheless, has some explaining to do after contradictory actions by ranking KMT officials.
Former KMT spokesperson Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) on Sunday said on Facebook that the KMT headquarters plans to use the Hung Su-chu incident to “launch across-the-board political wrangles.”
KMT Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) yesterday readily admitted he issued such a directive to the party’s local chapters, saying he had not done anything wrong by asking local chapters to address the discriminatory remarks.
Flabbergasted would be a huge understatement in describing the astonishment many members of the public feel over Tsai’s shamelessness in exploiting the Hung Su-chu incident for political gain.
However, perhaps one ought not to be surprised by Tsai’s remarks, following his recent shock move to “share” a Sina Weibo article that said Taiwan must be ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to complete its “historic mission” of unification.
Tsai’s actions alone have dampened public confidence in the KMT’s supposed efforts to push for legislation promoting rationality, tolerance, respect and ethnic harmony.
As a result of Tsai’s abhorrent remarks and his sharing of a post that in essence welcomes a Chinese invasion, the public likely not only doubts the KMT’s sincerity in its call for a concerted effort to “make hatred and discriminatory words and deeds disappear from society,” but many more probably wonder whether the KMT, after losing the presidency and its majority in the legislature, harbors the attitude: “Now that we have lost power, we might as well give up all of Taiwan to the CCP.”
Hung Su-chu is, at most, a fanatic who, due to her ignorance and lack of respect and appreciation for people of different ethnic backgrounds, resorted to insults and stirring up ethnic tension, which has met with disapproval from the public.
However, Tsai’s provocative remarks and actions are a different matter, which makes them even more detestable, as he has attempted to incite ethnic division for political gain.
As head of the KMT, Hung Hsiu-chu owes the public an explanation.
Source: Taipei Times - Editorials 2016/06/14
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