En svensk i Taiwan

>>>Kan man verkligen klandra dem, även om det är fel?

Ja, motsaettningarna paa Taiwan som har med etniska idenitiet aer verkligen djupa och svaara att foerstaa sig paa.

What it usually boils down to is an opinion of which side is provoking the other, and which actions each side has a legitimate reason to feel provoked about.

Assuming that it is "normal" for nations that have undergone transformation from one-party rule to multi-party democracy to hold people and institutions responsible for past wrongdoing, to remove symbols of past personality cults from prominent places in the public sphere, and to amend ideological bias in the educational and cultural sphere, then (with a few exceptions, like with the bill to have the relatives of persons accused of crimes stand trial) what the DPP is doing strikes me as a push toward a normal society.

If that is so, then who is to be blamed for stoking ethnic tensions? The group insisting on the path toward normalcy? Or the group, which, on principle, refuses to budge?

Would it really be normal to leave the all symbols in place? I wish I knew more about how these questions were dealt with in places like Spain, Chile, Indonesia or Romania. My own personal observation is that even many DPP supporters are not actually all that upset about the symbols of the old regime all around them-- the "China-whatever" names of many institutions, the Memorial Hall, the statues, etc.

Should the ruling party just politely ignore the unsolved problems remaining from decades of one-party rule? Perhaps many believe that enough has been done already-- after all, there is multi-party democracy, no more political prisoners, and evidently the KMT is taking upon itself the responsibility of dealing with the issue of stolen assets (by selling them off and keeping the money).

Sure, many people were upset with changing the name of the postal service, and perhaps the DPP can be accused of simply using the change as a way to deliberately "provoke" the KMT and its supporters. But on the other hand, what is the practical rationale for the postal service in Taiwan to continue to be named after a foreign country?? In one sense, allowing it to be named China Post would make about as much sense as calling it Japan Post or Korea Post.

Do you really think that the government should continue spending the NT$10 million per year forever to maintain the Chiang family tombs? Perhaps as a friendly gesture of good will and reconcilliation to the KMT? I'm sure they would deeply appreciate that, and would gratefully agree to cooperate cheerfully thereafter :)

Kan man klandra dem ? Man kan knappast klandra ngn for att han inte kan glomma och har svart att forlata lidna oforratter av detta slag. Daremot tycker jag att man atminstone starkt kan ifragasatta ett politiskt agerande som drivs av hat/hamndbegar och som ( delvis ) drabbar helt oskyldiga manniskor.

>>> what the DPP is doing strikes me as a push toward a normal society. If that is so, then who is to be blamed for stoking ethnic tensions?

The problem as I see it is that becoming a normal society needs to deal with these issues, but in an inclusive manner, not an exclusive. The DPP is pushing for all the right things but in the wrong way. They must not force their ideals through against the wishes of the KMT, but find ways of getting the KMT to accept these ideas. If this does not happen, Taiwan will always remain a split society. That means that they may have to spend still more time to build public consensus and building public support that includes the pan-blue camp as well. Until that happens, the greens will always be seen as stoking ethnic tension by the blues and the blues will always be seen as stoking ethnic tension by the greens. The DPP started out well by trying to include KMT in their governing team. They should have continued down that path, so that the pan-blues could feel that they were part of the changes that have been taking place (I know they screwed up with the Fourth Nuclear reactor and made enemies with Lien Chan because of the way they handled it, but that was inexperience, and I think that they could have dealt with the problem and made a come back).

Metallorm: Du har så klart rätt. Sitter man i regeringsposition så skall man inte låta hämndbegär styra landets framtida utveckling. Jag vet så klart inte om det är verkligen är så det ligger till, men det känns så ibland, och speciellt när jag såg Chen göra det där uttalandet.

If you believe that there is something the DDP could say or do that would convince the KMT that all parties should work together for the good of the whole nation, then you have a lot more faith in the KMT than I do. The way the KMT boycotts vital bills and negotiates directly with the CCP tells me that they care only about their own party. Taiwan is merely the temporary abode of their ethnic group, which has never identified with the people of Taiwan.

Sure, the KMT may make specific accusations and complaints, but what actually is eating them is that they have become the opposition and the DPP has ursurped their power. The only thing that the DPP could possibly do to make them happy would be to give them back their power.

Also, in countries like Taiwan that are undergoing a process of reforming political and civil society after decades of martial law, there is the important question of to what extent the surviving vestiges of the former ruling elite and ruling institutions have been held formally responsible for injustices. A "truth and reconcilliation" process involves more than just one side of a divided society forgiving and forgetting. It requires an open and fair process by which the whole nation examines past events. The process cannot be completed (meaning that reconcilliation cannot be achieved) if the former ruling party refuses to participate or even acknowledge any degree of responsibility. What concrete steps has the KMT taken to facilitate this process?

Has the DPP really gone out of their way to deliberately antagonize the KMT? I guess that depends on how much sympathy one has for the hyper-sensitivity of KMT supporters. For example, regarding the (former) CKS Hall: In seven years as the ruling party, the DPP has finally, in the 11th hour, got the name of the hall changed....and also the 4 characters on the gate. And KMT supporters are incensed. But of course, if the DPP had really wanted to make the KMT angry, they could have disposed of the huge dictator inside the hall.

Can you imagine the mayhem it would create, for KMT supporters to see the grinning generalissimo being trucked to Taoyuan?

>>> A "truth and reconcilliation" process involves more than just one side of a divided society...

That's exactly my point. The DPP cannot (actually, must not) force through their own version of transitional justice, because if there is no open process and no consensus, there will not, as you point out, be any reconciliation. They just have to find ways of making this happen. It took Spain a couple of decades to deal with the Franco years in their historic memory law. No one said it would be a piece of cake, so the DPP will just have to keep going.

>>> Taiwan is merely the temporary abode of their ethnic group, which has never identified with the people of Taiwan.

I don't think it is possible to see the KMT as the abode of one isolated ethnic group. There are 15 percent mainlanders in Taiwan, but the KMT has almost a 50 percent support, ie, many Taiwanese also support them, in the same way as many mainlanders support the DPP. The problem is not that clear cut, and that makes things even more complicated. There were for example quite a few Taiwanese during the colonial period that wanted unitification with China rather than Taiwanese independence.