林保華

Fighting the traitors’ call to arms

    By Paul Lin 林保華
Taipei Times  2021.8.12

At a forum in Shanghai last month, China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) founder Chang An-le (張安樂) once again explained his call for an “uprising before the battle,” saying that he wants to develop an organization to mobilize young Taiwanese and that when China attempts to force unification, he would let his troops take the lead.

Late last month, a video posted on YouTube by retired general Kao An-kuo (高安國), called “Taiwan’s generals,” shows him calling on Taiwanese military officers to overthrow the “fraudulent Democratic Progressive Party regime” and “complete the sacred mission of unification with China.”

At a critical time when Taiwan is facing the threat of biochemical warfare, key figures in its official and underground sectors have publicly declared their intention to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) armed unification efforts.

A report by the Chinese-language weekly magazine Mirror Media said that National Defense University president Chang Che-ping (張哲平), who had just left his post of deputy minister of national defense, was under investigation for alleged espionage activities spanning nine years.

There has been very little reaction to this news, and a political talk show on Sanlih E-Television was the only outlet that discussed the affair for two consecutive nights. There have been no public statements by top government officials.

Perhaps the public has been overcome by joy over Taiwan’s performance at the Tokyo Olympics, but can the nation afford to be so relaxed when it comes to matters of national security?

Taiwan is a democracy, and it is okay to use legal means to bring down the ruling party, but to go along with the CCP’s call for uprising by adressing “Taiwan’s generals” in a video is a rather obvious attempt to usurp the duties of the military’s commander-in-chief and the minister of national defense. This is a quasi-rebellion in the making.

On Feb. 28, 2018, Kao announced the establishment of the “Republic of China on Taiwan Military Government” at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei.

This is a sensitive date, and it makes one wonder if Kao is planning another 228 Massacre.

Surely the intent to establish a military government is tantamount to preparing a coup aimed at overturning Taiwan’s democratic system.

The government did not deal with it at that time, which is the reason for what is happening now.

If it is not handled now, would there be enough time to deal with it once the “military government” is marching through the nation’s streets with guns in hand?

If the issue of national identity were only a matter of identifying with the Republic of China or Taiwan, it could still be handled as a domestic freedom of speech issue, but once there is collusion with the CCP one-party dictatorship, it becomes a problem that involves national security.

If someone again calls for an uprising, it would be a matter of armed rebellion.

The government and the public must draw a clear line between internal issues, and issues between us and the enemy, and they must distinguish between what is legal and what is illegal.

It is difficult for senior government officials to create unity within Taiwan and recognize that they have achieved some success, but it is necessary to recognize that there are some interest groups that will not be touched by the government’s goodwill and that they will see that goodwill as weakness and instead become even more aggressive.

To give in to such people repeatedly would be cruel to the general public.

For the traitors in the military, it is the top brass who should come forward to speak out.

Resolutely fighting back is the only way to maintain the dignity and morale of the troops.

When the CCP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) cooperated against Japan during World War II, Mao Zedong (毛澤東) said: “Unity is achieved by struggle and destroyed by compromise.”

Mao and Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) were fighting each other, but Mao had a better understanding of Chinese history and was better at fighting, and therefore defeated Chiang.

If Taiwan repeatedly gives in to the CCP and fails to purge the traitors, the loss will be even worse. Taiwan is an island nation and there is nowhere to retreat, so the US military should be invited as soon as possible.

Paul Lin is a political commentator.

Translated by Perry Svensson