The content critically analyzes statements by Taiwanese politician Lai Ching-te that appear to praise Japanese colonial rule, contrasting this with historical realities and the current political climate, arguing that such rhetoric serves to deepen the divide between Taiwan and mainland China for political gain.
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Japan colonized Taiwan in order to promote the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
The same applies when the Nationalist government came to Taiwan.
It's just a springboard for the counterattack against the mainland.
Especially after the Kuomintang government came to Taiwan
The Taiwanese people are treated better than during colonial rule.
Even worse than Japan's colonial rule over Taiwan
The Kuomintang government was aiming to counterattack the mainland.
It even emphasized that after the Kuomintang came to Taiwan
The treatment of the Taiwanese people is worse than during the colonial period.
If a Japanese person holds this imperial historical view
So it's not surprising.
But a descendant of a colonial victim
A leader who inherited the mantle of the Republic of China said this
That would cross a line.
Why?
Before talking about Lai Ching-te
Let me start by telling you something that has deeply moved me.
February 28th
After the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran
Many Middle Eastern countries have closed their airspace.
A large number of flights were cancelled
Many tourists were affected.
Among them were three Middle East tour groups from Taiwan's Yutai Travel Agency.
There were a total of ninety-three people.
After they finished touring Türkiye
The original flight I booked was a connecting flight to Taiwan via Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
But after this war started...
All flights were cancelled.
All the tickets for the Taiwan tour group were rescheduled.
up to four times
Ultimately, it could not be implemented.
They were trapped in Istanbul for five whole days.
Because Taiwan and Türkiye do not have diplomatic relations.
Therefore, these Taiwanese tourists had nowhere to turn for help.
He could only contact the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul.
We hope the mainland can help arrange for mainland aircraft to evacuate them.
The Chinese consulate agreed without hesitation.
Ultimately, China Eastern Airlines flight 704 was arranged.
They brought these 93 Taiwanese tourists back to Shanghai from Türkiye.
Then I returned to Taiwan from Shanghai.
After being stranded for approximately five days
Ninety-three Taiwanese tourists who were traveling in the Middle East were finally able to board a China Eastern Airlines flight.
They will travel to Shanghai in batches.
This group of Taiwanese compatriots came from three Middle East tour groups from the same Taiwanese travel agency.
This matter was originally about both sides of the Taiwan Strait abandoning ideology.
A good deed to help those in distress
Many of these tourists did indeed express their gratitude later.
anyway
Taiwan's official...
I should also say thank you.
But how did the DPP authorities in Taiwan respond?
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement saying that the mainland's propaganda about this matter is a form of cognitive warfare.
It's a deliberate attempt to smear Taiwan's ineffective evacuation efforts.
DPP legislator Lin Chun-hsien went even further.
He said China wasn't trying to rescue people.
Rather, they wanted to achieve their political propaganda goals.
But at the same time...
Two Taiwanese tourists stranded in Bahrain, a Gulf state
After returning on a Japanese repatriation charter flight
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its sincere gratitude immediately.
Talking about Taiwan and Japan
As partners in the Indo-Pacific region who share the universal values of democracy, freedom, and human rights.
This cooperation fully demonstrates the sincere friendship between the two sides in supporting each other during times of emergency and crisis.
China helped 93 Taiwanese people return home.
I didn't get a single thank you.
It was even criticized as political propaganda and a cognitive war.
Japan helped two Taiwanese people.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) then launched into a lengthy expression of gratitude.
I was speechless after seeing it.
But this matter can help us understand better.
Why does Lai Ching-te so highly praise Japan's colonial history?
Of course, Lai Ching-te is pro-Japanese.
It's nothing new.
This tendency to request a date
If this were applied to other ordinary people...
It's nothing.
but
If we dig up Lai Ching-te's family history
Compare this to his stance.
It creates a suffocating sense of absurdity.
Lai Ching-te's ancestors
They migrated to Taiwan from Pinghe County, Zhangzhou, Fujian during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty.
By Lai Ching-te's generation
It's only the fourth generation in total.
They first settled in Yunling Gukeng, Taiwan.
Later, in order to make a living
They eventually moved to Ruifang in Taipei.
Making a living by mining coal
Three generations of the Lai family
They all make a living in the perilous coal mines.
Lai Ching-te's father was named Lai Chao-chin.
Born in Ruifang Coal Mine in 1927
He followed in his father's footsteps and became a miner.
1943
Lai Chao-chin personally experienced one of the darkest events in Taiwan's colonial history: the Ruifang Anti-Japanese Army Case.
The incident was triggered by Li Jianxing, a local coal mine owner in Ruifang.
He clashed with Japanese detectives.
Japanese officials accused Li Jianxing of colluding with mainland China.
Organize anti-Japanese armed forces
Subsequently, members of the Li Jianxing family were arrested.
And many miners
More than 500 people were arrested in total.
Taiwan was liberated in 1945
This group of people who were arrested and put in prison
Only a little over a hundred people survived.
The other three hundred or so all died in prison.
No remains
Lai Chaojin was only sixteen years old at the time.
One of the victims of this arrest
He was tortured during interrogation by Japanese military police.
He was lucky to survive.
Until Taiwan's Retrocession
Lai Chaojin is still working in this coal mine
He died in a mining accident in 1960.
Lai Ching-te at that time
Three months old
Therefore, judging solely from Lai Ching-te's family background
During the colonial period
Their family has always been at the bottom of society.
Suffering from exploitation and hardship
The so-called glory of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Actually, I never belonged to this kind of family.
Let's not talk about deep-seated hatred.
But it's definitely not to the point where we should be grateful.
This kind of "you torment me a thousand times"
I still love you like I did when I first fell in love with you.
This is what we often call the "imperial subject complex".
The so-called imperial subject complex
This refers to the period of Japanese colonial rule.
The Japanese government implemented the "Japanization" movement in its colonies.
Forced cultural cleansing
This has led to some people being brainwashed by education.
Cultural traditions
They psychologically accepted Japanese rule.
Taking pride in Japanese colonization
Similar to Stockholm syndrome
Actually, this kind of pro-Japanese imperial sentiment...
Lai Ching-te is not the only one in Taiwan's political arena.
Former President Lee Teng-hui
He is another typical example.
And even more dramatic
Lee Teng-hui's older brother is named Lee Teng-chin.
He took the name Iwasato Takenori during the Japanese occupation.
He was influenced by the Japanization Movement
He enlisted in the Japanese Navy in 1943.
February 1945
He died in the Battle of Manila in the Philippines.
Only 23 years old
His memorial tablet was subsequently enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine.
Lee Teng-hui himself changed his name to Iwasato Masao during the Japanization Movement.
He also received a complete Japanese education and cultural immersion.
2007
When Lee Teng-hui visited Japan in a private capacity...
He made a special trip to Yasukuni Shrine to pay his respects.
The main purpose is to worship his brother's memorial tablet.
He claimed to have fulfilled his lifelong wish. At that time...
This also caused a huge uproar.
Considering that Lee Teng-hui grew up during the Japanese colonial period...
Received Japanese education from a young age
They all died in battle far from home, as Taiwanese soldiers serving in the Japanese army.
What about the complexity of this personal emotion?
There is at least some reason to it.
but
Lai Ching-te's situation is completely different from Lee Teng-hui's.
His family are descendants of genuine Fujian immigrants.
My father didn't benefit from the Japanization either.
Instead, they were captured and tortured by the Japanese.
The miners who almost died in prison
Lai Ching-te lost his father at a young age
Growing up in extreme poverty
He was able to finish university and enter politics thanks to his mother working several jobs.
He did not have the same upbringing as Lee Teng-hui, who was deeply intertwined with colonialism.
Therefore, he carried the burden of national and personal hatred to erode [his influence].
It's a bit like the common saying that leeks praise the sickle.
The irony is a bit too strong.
Let's move on to the real history.
Was Taiwan really better during the Japanese colonial period than during the Kuomintang era?
Since the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895
Taiwan was ceded to Japan.
Returned in 1945
Taiwan experienced fifty years of colonial rule.
These fifty years
In order to suppress the Taiwanese resistance at present...
There are at least four documented systematic massacres.
The First Yunlin Massacre
After Taiwan was ceded in 1895
Tang Jingsong, the last governor of Taiwan
He was unwilling to surrender and evacuate.
He himself spearheaded the establishment of a Republic of Taiwan to carry out armed resistance.
Led by the renowned general Liu Yongfu, the local Taiwanese militia fought a bloody and arduous battle.
After the Japanese army paid a considerable price...
In November of the same year, they completely occupied Taiwan.
However, the resistance from the Taiwanese people did not stop there.
The insurgents are still active in central Taiwan.
After suffering heavy losses, the Japanese army
Enraged
A retaliatory massacre was then launched in the Yunlin area of central Taiwan.
Japanese troops burned, killed, and looted more than seventy villages around Yunlin County.
It lasted for five days
Conservative estimates suggest that at least 15,000 people were massacred.
Historically known as the Yunlin Massacre
There are many villages.
They were wiped out!
After this massacre
Japan in order to more effectively control Taiwan
The Baojia system was restored.
The requirement for Taiwanese citizens to monitor and report each other is...
Otherwise, they will be held jointly liable.
Controlling Taiwan through this terrifying method
The second major massacre occurred in 1902.
May of that year
The last resistance force in Taiwan consisted of 265 people.
Under the leadership of Lin Shaomao
They accepted the conditions offered by Taiwan Governor-General Kodama Gentaro.
Decided to lay down arms and surrender
Kodama Gentaro goes back on his word
Then, under the guise of holding a ceremony of submission...
Lure all the anti-Japanese troops that have already surrendered and laid down their arms to assemble.
Then they slaughtered all two hundred-plus people.
The third massacre was the Hsi Lai An Incident.
1915
Yu Qingfang, Luo Jun, Jiang Ding and others from Tainan
Secretly organized an armed uprising at Xilai Temple in Tainan.
This was also during the Japanese occupation period.
The largest armed uprising by civilians in Taiwan
After the uprising was suppressed
Japanese authorities launched a massive crackdown.
A total of 1,957 people were arrested.
866 were executed
Even Japanese prosecutors later had to admit it.
This was an unprecedented tragedy in the history of world judicial proceedings.
Not only that
The Japanese army retaliated against the villagers who supported the uprising.
Also under the guise of training camp
Luring nearby villagers to the wild
He was forced to dig his own grave.
Then a massacre was carried out.
Nearly 3,200 people were massacred in one go.
The elderly, the weak, and infants were all spared.
What about the fourth genocide?
This refers to the Wushe Incident, which everyone is familiar with.
October 1930
Seediq indigenous people in Wushe, Nantou County, central Taiwan
They were driven by their inability to bear the humiliation and exploitation of indigenous women by the Japanese.
An uprising under the leadership of Moarudao
The Japanese colonial authorities faced the Seediq people, who were still living in the era of cold weapons.
Disregarding the Geneva Convention
They actually used poison gas to suppress them.
The Japanese army used aircraft to drop vesicant gas on the Seediq people who were hiding in caves.
Caused major casualties
This Seediq ethnic group...
He originally belonged to a very small tribe.
The total population at that time was only a little over two thousand.
As a result, over nine hundred were killed in the Japanese bombing.
They were almost wiped out.
The women of this tribe did not want to be a burden to the warriors.
Mass hanging in the dense forest
Extremely tragic
Moarudao, the leader of the uprising
He finally shot himself.
His body was discovered by the Japanese army.
It was specially made into a specimen.
Public display of humiliation
It wasn't until 1973 that it was returned to its hometown of Guizang.
This moving and inspiring history
It was later adapted into the famous film "Seediq Bale" by Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng.
Released in Taiwan in 2011
I watched this movie back then.
Very impressive
Because before this
I know absolutely nothing about the history of Taiwan's indigenous people.
They were even more unaware of this tragic history of resistance against Japan.
If we say...
The four incidents above were merely physical massacres.
The Japanization Movement, on the other hand, was a systematic destruction of the spiritual and cultural roots of the Taiwanese people.
1937
After the outbreak of full-scale war between China and Japan
Japan is accelerating its pro-Japanization movement in Taiwan.
Taiwanese people are being forced to speak only Japanese.
Using Mandarin and Taiwanese dialects
They will all be fined.
Do not use Japanese
You can't even buy a train ticket.
The school also prohibited the offering of Chinese language courses.
Taiwanese people must give up their Chinese names
Adopt a Japanese surname
Ancestor worship is prohibited
Must convert to Japanese Shinto
at the same time
Japan also implemented a strict system of racial discrimination against Taiwan.
Taiwanese people have food rationing
His earnings were only half that of the Japanese.
Performing the same work
But the salary is lower.
Large enterprises and resources are all controlled by Japanese zaibatsu.
Taiwan was merely a major rear area for Japan to plunder raw materials and supply war materials.
The Taiwanese people back then
No matter how much talent you have
In the local bureaucratic system
The highest position one can hold is a grassroots position at the village level.
During fifty years of colonial rule
You can hold a position at the state or county level.
Those are very few and far between.
You could even say that
Japanese people's views on Koreans
Actually, it's much better than treating Taiwanese people.
In the then-Korean colonial government
Li Wanyong, a notorious collaborator
His highest official position
He became the prime minister of the colonial government.
Moreover, he was granted the title of nobleman by the Emperor.
In the colonial government of Taiwan
The most famous collaborator
Koo Hsien-jung, who guided the Japanese army to occupy Taiwan in 1895
He dedicated his entire life to Japan.
Betrayed countless Taiwanese people
But in the end, he only managed to become a member of the Council of the Governor-General of Taiwan.
What level?
That's equivalent to our CPPCC members today.
It's nothing.
During World War II
Taiwan was also used as a blood bank by Japan.
Countless Taiwanese youths were sent to the battlefield by Japan.
Serving in wars of aggression
In this regard...
Japan has accurate records.
A total of 207,183 people were recruited in Taiwan.
When the war ended
A total of 30,304 people died in battle.
The sacrifices made by Taiwanese people during the Japanese invasion
It can be described as very big.
But they were merely used as cannon fodder by the Japanese.
There's almost no chance of him becoming an officer.
We can compare them.
Hong Sa-ik, a Korean
He rose to the rank of lieutenant general in the Japanese Army.
He was even awarded a title and honors by the Emperor.
The highest rank held by a Taiwanese in the Japanese army
That is, Zhong Qianshun
He became a major.
Or in charge of logistics
So
Taiwanese during the Japanese colonial era
In the eyes of the Japanese
They weren't even second-class citizens.
Of course!
Japanese construction projects in Taiwan
We also have no reason to shy away from this.
Just like Japan did during its colonial periods in Manchuria and Korea, and...
They've generally done a good job.
but
They are doing these construction projects
The most fundamental purpose was to serve Japan's imperial expansion at the time.
He was clearly not acting in the best interests of Taiwanese, Northeasterners, or North Koreans.
This matter...
Just like Qin Shi Huang's standardization of writing and cart axle width
Building straight roads and developing water conservancy projects are similar.
These measures...
Objectively speaking, they're not bad at all.
It has profoundly influenced the course of Chinese history.
At that time, Qin Shi Huang did these things
Do you think he did it for the happiness of the common people?
That's obviously not the case.
His aim was for the eternal stability of the Qin Empire.
If he had even a shred of concern for the people...
He wouldn't be swayed by a prophecy carved on a meteorite predicting the fall of the Qin Dynasty.
They slaughtered all the people within a radius of dozens of miles!
He would not allow hundreds of thousands of laborers to build his unprecedented mausoleum.
Today, we can objectively evaluate Qin Shi Huang's achievements.
But you absolutely cannot say that Qin Shi Huang's era was much better than today.
Because of that era
You're nothing more than a slave who builds tombs.
So
Lai Ching-te's beautiful dream of the Japanese colonial era
It doesn't actually exist.
You can give an objective evaluation
But to say that it was the best era in Taiwan's history...
That's the King of Hell telling stories to deceive ghosts.
Being colonized is not shameful
However, if we are to satirize the atrocities of the colonizers...
This is not only a betrayal of history.
It is an insult to our ancestors.
Having finished discussing the Japanese colonial era
Let's talk about the era of the Kuomintang's authoritarian rule.
There's no need to deny it.
Kuomintang retreats to Taiwan
In order to consolidate rule
It also implemented a long period of white terror.
The most famous one, and the one the DPP talks about every day.
It was the February 28 Incident of 1947.
When Kuomintang monopoly bureau tea technicians were cracking down on smuggled cigarettes in Taipei City
Injured cigarette vendor
Accidental killing of civilians
This aroused widespread public outrage
February 28th
Citizens strike, boycott, and go on strike
Violent protests also broke out across Taiwan.
Kuomintang troops opened fire to suppress
Heavy casualties
According to the 2021 Taiwan official report on the truth of the February 28 Incident and transitional justice.
The total death toll is between eight thousand and 11,000.
After February 28
In order to consolidate its rule
Martial law, which lasted for thirty-eight years, began.
Throughout the martial law period
The number of political prisoners executed was between three and four thousand.
Including many underground members of the Chinese Communist Party
These killings were similar to the massacres perpetrated by the Japanese.
These are all real historical traumas.
But if we're going to say that...
The Kuomintang was even worse than the Japanese.
That's not true.
After Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Taiwan
After painful reflection
By purchasing land from landlords and distributing it to peasants
and rent reduction of 37.5%
It has achieved the goal of ensuring that farmers have their own land and people have their own houses.
Afterwards, Chiang Ching-kuo spearheaded the Ten Major Construction Projects.
It laid the foundation for Taiwan's industrialization.
The miracle of the Four Asian Tigers was achieved.
The most, most, most important thing is...
Even during the Kuomintang authoritarian period
He still formally followed the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947.
To a certain extent, it allows for local autonomy, local elections, and non-party movements.
These were key factors in Taiwan's subsequent successful democratization.
Especially Chiang Ching-kuo
That made an even greater contribution to Taiwan's democracy.
September 1986
When the Democratic Progressive Party was founded...
The Taiwan Garrison Command at the time compiled a list of people to be arrested.
The report was prepared to be submitted to Chiang Ching-kuo to advocate for a strong crackdown on the Democratic Progressive Party.
But Chiang Ching-kuo immediately rejected it.
He said arresting people wouldn't solve the problem.
If Chiang Ching-kuo had actually wiped out the Democratic Progressive Party back then...
Where is Lai Ching-te's comeback today?
After Chiang Ching-kuo decided to lift the ban on political parties and newspapers
His policy advisor questioned the move.
This will cause the Kuomintang to lose power.
That's what Chiang Ching-kuo said.
There is no ruling party in the world that lasts forever.
It was precisely because of Chiang Ching-kuo's series of reforms
This established the irreversible direction of democracy in Taiwan.
I know some viewers will say this when they see this.
Without the relentless struggle of the Taiwanese people
Where are the concessions made by the Kuomintang and Chiang Ching-kuo?
That's one way to put it.
But everyone can think about it.
The struggle of the people of mainland China for democracy and freedom
Has it been less than Taiwan over the past seventy years?
The blood shed by the people of mainland China
Are there fewer heads lost in Taiwan than in other parts of the world?
Political prisoners still in prison
That's still number one in the world!
But why hasn't the mainland successfully completed its transformation?
Because the people of mainland China are facing the Communist Party.
If Chiang Ching-kuo had chosen the same methods Deng Xiaoping used in 1989...
The process of Taiwan's democratization would never have resulted in what it is today.
Perhaps democratization can ultimately be achieved.
But there will definitely be more bleeding.
Pay a higher price
This is precisely what makes Chiang Ching-kuo great.
We all know that human nature is selfish.
From ancient times to the present
The allure of power is the greatest.
That's a much bigger temptation than flesh and drugs!
Few people in power will voluntarily relinquish power.
Chiang Ching-kuo was able to adapt to the times
Voluntarily relinquishing the power accumulated by the Chiang family regime over decades
What about returning power to the people?
It is extremely difficult.
To put it bluntly...
If Chiang Ching-kuo had learned from the Communist Party
I will not lift martial law.
I just won't change my approach.
At that time, there was still a bunch of useless opponents.
What can we do to him?
So
The democracy and freedom that Taiwan enjoys today
It was indeed the result of countless Taiwanese people's relentless struggle.
However, it must also be acknowledged
The decisive role played by the Kuomintang and Chiang Ching-kuo's initiative to relinquish power and transform their political landscape
Regardless of their initial considerations...
However, a gentleman judges actions, not intentions.
Taiwanese people should give the Kuomintang a fair evaluation.
Lai Ching-te is a beneficiary of Taiwan's democratization process.
As the successors of the peaceful transition of the Republic of China
Enjoying the economic foundation laid by Chiang Ching-kuo
Enjoying the democratic process initiated by the Kuomintang
But then they turned around and said that the colonial era was much better than the Kuomintang era.
This is so ungrateful!
It's not that he doesn't understand history
Rather, he was too calculating.
Because only by portraying the Kuomintang as villains even worse than the Japanese can this be achieved.
His de-Sinicization only has a moral basis.
Why do I say that?
Taiwan election debate at the end of 2023
Lai Ching-te once said something that left people speechless.
He said the Constitution of the Republic of China was a disaster.
Treat the Republic of China as the guardian mountain of both sides of the Taiwan Strait
Is it ultimately about promoting peace?
It will still bring disaster to Taiwan.
A person running for president under the Constitution of the Republic of China
To say this constitution is a disaster
This was an accident!
This exposes the DPP's true intentions.
The framework of the Constitution of the Republic of China
It contains a basic Chinese framework.
This is precisely the obstacle that the DPP finds most difficult to overcome in its push for de jure Taiwan independence.
In the eyes of the Democratic Progressive Party
The Constitution of the Republic of China
It's not a shield, but a binding spell.
This is why Lai Ching-te has repeatedly stated publicly.
The Republic of China, established in 1911, no longer exists.
What he wanted to do
It's just giving Taiwanese independence a new legal shell.
To do this successfully
He must reconstruct this historical perspective centered on Taiwan itself.
To glorify Japan's colonial rule as a co-prosperous society with a historical mission
They portrayed the Kuomintang's rule as a tyranny worse than colonialism, and then what?
This is to sever the historical and cultural ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Demonstrating the historical inevitability of Taiwan's independence
Lai Ching-te's opening remarks
That was his intention.
actually
Lai Ching-te's actions in this regard
There have been many before.
For example, May 2025
President Lai Ching-te made a special appearance at a commemorative event.
Whom are we commemorating?
Yoichi Hatta, an engineer from the Japanese colonial era
Lai Ching-te said
The relationship between Taiwan and Japan
More than just friends
More like family
Yoichi Hatta was indeed someone who contributed to the development of Taiwan's colonial power.
But after all, he served the Japanese colonial government.
Whether it deserves such a high rating is another matter.
Because so many people have contributed to Taiwan.
I've never seen Lai Ching-te go to pay his respects.
Lai Ching-te's tireless advocacy for figures from the colonial era speaks volumes.
He wants to construct a new historical perspective on Taiwan.
Actually, since the DPP came to power...
De-Sinicization has transformed from a slogan into a systematic project.
In education
New Curriculum Syllabus
He has significantly condensed the content of Chinese history.
From the Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties
Two thousand four hundred years of history.
Compressed to just over a thousand words
Like Gu Yanwu's famous essay "Shame and Integrity".
Fan Zhongyan's famous essay "Yueyang Tower" and so on
They have all been removed from textbooks.
Even Anping Fort, where Zheng Chenggong stationed his troops after recovering Taiwan.
It has now been renamed.
It was transformed into the ruins of Fort Zeelandia, which has a strong colonial character.
Many statues of Japanese colonialists were toppled after Taiwan's retrocession.
It has also been reintroduced into public museums.
In terms of narrative?
In his inaugural address, Lai Ching-te claimed...
1624
Starting from Tainan, Taiwan
This marked the beginning of Taiwan's globalization.
What happened in 1624?
This marked the beginning of the Dutch colonization of Taiwan.
In the DPP's new historical perspective on Taiwan
All historical moments that led to contact with the mainland
All must be suppressed or eliminated
Everything related to the outside world
Even the arrival of foreign colonizers
All of these can be packaged as Taiwan's glory on the world stage.
to be honest
Taiwan needs to build its own ethnic identity
This is not a problem.
But there's no need to erase history and deny our ancestors.
You want to split up the family
Must we portray our brothers, sisters, and fellow villagers as completely unrelated and utterly useless?
Unable to be family
There's no need to become enemies then.
This political maneuvering to de-Sinicize...
In reality
It turned into hatred and suppression of mainland Chinese people by the system.
The most specific example
This refers to the DPP's long-standing discriminatory treatment of mainland spouses.
There are more than 300,000 mainland spouses in Taiwan.
Women who married from the mainland
They married Taiwanese men
Living in Taiwan
Raising Taiwanese children
However, they faced obvious differential discrimination within the system.
Other foreign spouses can apply for an ID card after residing in Taiwan for four years.
Mainland spouses will have to wait a full six years.
And also
There are still many restrictions on social rights.
Some mainland spouses said the wrong thing
They've even been deported recently!
This kind of differential treatment...
On the surface, he cited national security as the reason.
Actually
It's about labeling mainland spouses.
Turning it into a potential political threat
This is intended to send a signal to Taiwanese society that mainlanders are the enemy.
The DPP's policies are not as they claim.
It is to resist the infiltration of the CCP.
Defend Taiwan
What they are resisting is all connection with the mainland.
What they're protecting is the DPP's monopoly.
Even if you are Taiwanese
As long as we express even a little goodwill towards the mainland
Even if it has no connection whatsoever with the Communist Party
You will also be criticized.
This is no longer just about being anti-communist.
It is blatant anti-China and anti-humanitarianism.
But I have to say...
The DPP's approach of glorifying colonialism
De-Sinicization strategy
It did indeed have a significant effect.
You all probably remember last month, right?
A very significant event has occurred in Japan.
A Taiwanese mother and daughter traveling to Tokyo
While taking photos at the famous Instagrammable spot, Shibuya intersection in Tokyo.
He was deliberately knocked to the ground by a woman wearing a mask.
Extremely bad
After this incident went viral online...
Including the Japanese
Everyone is condemning the perpetrator.
But in Taiwan
However, a considerable number of DPP supporters
On the contrary, the online trolls exposed the mother and daughter who were victims.
It's wrong to say they took photos at the intersection in Shibuya.
He deserved to be hit.
Finally...
This actually forced the victim's mother to apologize online.
How absurd is this victim-blaming mentality!
To this extent, they've become so pro-Japanese.
This has exceeded the basic limits of normal human nature.
Even more
Even the history of comfort women is being glorified.
As everyone knows
The Japanese army in Taiwan, Korea and mainland China at that time
They forcibly conscripted countless women to serve as comfort women.
This matter is still being condemned to this day.
There's nothing to whitewash.
It's impossible to clear your name.
And what was the result?
The Democratic Progressive Party has a spokesperson named Dai Weishan.
When she was on an online program
She said that her grandmother and maternal grandmother both volunteered to be comfort women.
I was not insulted at all
Voluntarily serving as comfort women
If your grandma and maternal grandma are still alive
I wouldn't be at a loss to slap you twice.
Is that even human language?
I'd like to say a few more words on this topic today.
How should we view colonial history?
For a long time
There is a saying online
The colonization by Western powers, including Japan, in those years
It brought civilized systems to the local area.
It has brought about various achievements in modern construction.
That's much better than autocracy.
We should affirm rather than criticize
Before I state my opinion...
Let's first compare Taiwan and South Korea.
Both Taiwan and South Korea were once Japanese colonies.
Taiwan was ruled by Japan for fifty years
Korea was ruled for thirty-five years
During the colonial period
Both places experienced infrastructure construction and forced labor.
Cultural cleansing and various bloody repressions
According to the logic of the colonizers' merits
Therefore, the legacy left by the Japanese colonizers should be the key to the development of these two places.
But the reality is...
After Taiwan and Korea gained independence from Japanese colonial rule
They achieved far greater success than the colonial era entirely on their own.
GDP per capita increased from $700 during the Japanese colonial period
It had reached $37,800 by 2025.
South Korea is even more outrageous.
From a state of extreme poverty with a per capita GDP of $87 in 1962
In 2025, the per capita GDP reached US$37,500.
At the same time
As the former suzerain state of Japan
In 2025, its GDP per capita was $35,000.
In other words, he has been overtaken by both Taiwan and South Korea.
These data points are put together
This illustrates a simple truth.
The same ethnic group
After gaining the right to independent development by freeing themselves from colonizers
Creativity unleashed under a democratic system
Far surpassing their achievements during the colonial period.
The prosperity of Taiwan and South Korea today
It is not a legacy of Japanese colonialism.
It was achieved through the hard work of the people in both places.
Let me talk about Hong Kong and Singapore.
Britain as a model of colonization
His governance of the colonies
That's much more civilized than the Japanese.
Although he also restricted the political rights of the colonists, but...
At least they didn't carry out a massacre.
There will be no forced assimilation.
In areas such as the rule of law, free trade, and property rights protection
They all left behind very comprehensive institutional frameworks.
so
The subsequent rise of Hong Kong and Singapore
It is indeed related to British colonization.
No one can deny this.
But as everyone knows...
Britain colonized many Third World countries at that time.
Colonies can be said to be all over the world.
Most backward colonies
In the decades following independence
The problem remains deeply entrenched and difficult to reverse.
India is mired in poverty
He only started out in the last twenty years.
Really achieved great economic success
Truly among developed economies
Only Hong Kong and Singapore
Both inherited the British legal system.
Why are Hong Kong and Singapore so successful?
It's obvious.
This is closely related to the fact that both places are predominantly Chinese.
The Chinese community is known for its hard work, resilience, and law-abiding behavior.
He only needs a suitable institutional environment
He couldn't possibly have a bad life.
Chinese people all over the world
No matter which place you choose
That's how it is.
One generation suffers
The second generation can turn things around
Don't even mention the British rule of law environment.
Look at China's reform and opening up now!
Even under communist dictatorship where freedom is severely restricted
They only granted the Chinese a little bit of freedom in the economic sphere.
This has created the world's second-largest economy.
Can you say that this achievement belongs to the Communist Party?
Is it Deng Xiaoping's?
Is it Xi Jinping's?
Of course not
This is an achievement of the Chinese people.
Therefore, the success of Hong Kong and Singapore
Ultimately, it is the success of hardworking, law-abiding people.
Rather than the success of the colonizers
We should fully affirm the positive impact of colonizers.
However, his main achievements were always created by the local people.
So when we look at colonial history...
We should and must be objective.
Merits should be publicized.
Even if you have something to say, you should still talk about it.
However, there is no need to romanticize colonial history entirely.
Moreover
Out of natural national sentiment
People all over the world
Regardless of ethnicity or country
He has an innate aversion to foreign rule.
There are various reasons why a country is backward.
However, if we attribute it solely to race...
Blaming ancestors
It can be attributed to the lack of a master civilization.
This kind of forgetting one's roots
It won't make us seem rational.
It would only make us look foolish and mean.
After saying so much...
Back to the initial question
Why did Lai Ching-te make these remarks in March 2025?
The answer isn't actually that complicated.
Symposium on the 30th Anniversary of Taiwan's Direct Presidential Election
This is an excellent opportunity to unite Taiwanese identity.
In this context
glorifying Japanese colonialism
vilifying the Kuomintang
There is only one goal.
Continue to widen the historical and emotional distance between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait
To build a foundation of public opinion for the next political maneuver.
This is something the DPP has used for decades.
A set of operations that has been mastered to a high degree
The problem is
Where is this operation trying to lead Taiwan?
Public opinion on the mainland
It's actually different from the DPP's propaganda.
A poll conducted a few days ago by the Carter Center in the United States in cooperation with a Chinese polling company
A large-scale survey
Two thousand five hundred adults from the continent were interviewed.
In terms of emotional ratings towards Taiwan
The average score given by respondents was 62.
One hundred points is the maximum score
In other words...
The overall sentiment of mainland Chinese people towards Taiwan
It tends to be positive.
In terms of ways to improve cross-strait relations
The approach most supported by respondents was to strengthen cultural exchanges and economic and trade interactions.
Instead of unification by force
The truth revealed by this opinion poll
The Democratic Progressive Party has long instilled in Taiwanese people the idea that the mainland population is on full alert for war.
The scenario of seizing the island is completely different.
The real issue between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait
It has always been the political system that creates this divide.
Instead of the hatred fabricated by politicians
Most mainland Chinese and Taiwanese
If there's a chance to sit down and have a drink
I reckon most of the conversation was about everyday things, food, and kids.
It will absolutely not be about unification or independence.
Of course!
This poll also revealed a very worrying aspect.
Compared to the survey conducted in early 2025...
Support the proportion of animals under no circumstances.
It dropped from 51% to 38%.
In other words
Public opinion against unification by force is narrowing.
This situation occurs
It is precisely because of the DPP's one-sided hatred of China and its efforts to de-Sinicize China over the past two years
This has led to a change in public opinion on the mainland.
Lai Ching-te and the DPP's biggest problem
It's not actually a political stance.
Rather, it is populist ambition.
Every political party has the right to assert what it considers the correct political stance.
Even if that stance is to pursue Taiwan independence
However, the way the Democratic Progressive Party pursues its goals
He did it by continuously creating fear.
Amplify the opposition
Manipulating ethnic sentiments
This is a typical tactic of populist political parties.
History has proven time and again
The Cost of Populist Politics
These burdens are all borne by ordinary people.
When politicians use external tensions as a tool to deflect attention from their own problems...
When loving Taiwan is defined as necessarily hating everything related to mainland China
Therefore, all that is accumulating in this society is division and exhaustion.
People of mainland China
We have no choice in our own destiny.
Whether it's people who yearn for systemic change
People who are still dissatisfied with the status quo across the Taiwan Strait
In that kind of environment on the mainland...
Their voices were extremely limited.
However, Taiwanese people have channels for expression and the right to vote.
This is Taiwan's most precious thing.
It was something that countless people fought for.
The significance of a vote lies in the fact that the people can use it to correct mistakes.
Correct those politicians who place their own power above the interests of the people.
Correct those policy directions that push cross-strait relations toward unnecessary dangers.
Americans elected Trump in 2016.
There was an opportunity to correct the mistake four years later.
However, he was sent back to the White House again in 2024.
The cost of this choice is now clear to everyone.
The whole world is bearing the burden
The situation for Taiwanese people is even more dangerous.
Taiwan doesn't have the size and resources of the United States.
The cost of making mistakes may be much higher than the cost of mistakes made by Americans.
Taiwan's most fundamental interest is not to preserve the DPP's rule.
Realizing Lai Ching-te's vision of independence
Rather, it is to preserve Taiwan's hard-won democracy, freedom, and peace.
Cross-strait relations have reached this point.
A great deal of misunderstanding, fear, and antagonism has accumulated.
These problems
There is no easy answer.
It is also impossible to resolve in a short period of time.
But one thing is clear.
A person who reads history backwards
Treating colonizers as benefactors
Treating cultural roots as shackles
A political line that treats exchanges between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as a threat.
He is definitely not protecting Taiwan.
Instead, it is gradually depleting Taiwan's most precious resources.
That is the inclusiveness and self-confidence built up over decades of democratization.
Mao Zedong thanked Japan for its invasion back then.
It was because the Japanese invasion did indeed help him seize power.
Lai Ching-te is now grateful for Japanese colonialism.
It's because severing ties with history does indeed help him achieve de jure Taiwan independence.
Essentially
These are all manifestations of placing party interests and personal interests above national interests.
We all hope for a better future for both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
This future does not need to build identity by glorifying colonizers.
There's no need to belittle oneself to prove one's worth.
It doesn't matter who it is.
The important thing is that we must first be upright people.
good
That concludes today's commentary.
Thank you for watching.
See you next time!
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