Mini flap in Taiwan over a group of students who have formed a Nazi party in Taiwan:
Twenty university students yesterday founded an association with Adolf Hitler as its inspiration, and set themselves the goal of turning Taiwan into a Nazi country in a bid to show their extreme dissatisfaction with the continuous political squabbling that pervades life in Taiwanese society these days, according to local Chinese-language media reports.
The National Socialism Association presently has over 800 members on its books, most of whom are university or high-school students, according to information on the association's Web site.
One co-founder of the association, surnamed Hsu, announced plans to invite all members to hold a meeting next Saturday, explaining that supporters will be clearly told that the NSA aims to seize the reins of government.
"We will find a quiet place to discuss the association's future with our members earnestly," the 22-year-old Hsu was quoted as saying.
Hsu, who graduated from the political department of Soochow University last year, noted that she was so fed up with all the political wrangling between the ruling and opposition parties that she and several other followers of Nazi ideology decided to found the association.
My friend Dan Bloom sent me the link to the website: http://www.twnazi.org/. This looks more like parody than seriousness. Memoirs on a rainy day has additional comments.
UPDATE: Dan just emailed me to say this looks like it might be serious.
[Taiwan]
Michael, sorry for offtopic comment, but could I link my blog lalaoshi.livejournal.com to yours? I do a mix of China and Taiwan commentary.
ReplyDeleteCheers.
-Ralph
(We've spoken by phone about news stories in Taiwan.)
While my initial reaction was that they're doing it simply for the shock value, after thinking about it a bit more I'm not so sure. The Holocaust and its associated horrors, as well as the racism practiced by the Nazi's are considerably less well known in East Asia. Consequently many people in my generation who grew up in Taiwan regard the Nazi's only as a European curiosity with spiffy uniforms. Throw in a dose of the insular xenophobia that tends to occur in homogenous societies and you end up with things like this, as well as the whole Nazi fetish thing that some cosplayers go for (mainly in Japan, though also prevalent elsewhere), or "educational" comic books claiming that the Jews control the US (South Korea).
ReplyDeleteThe education system and the media really need to do a better job in presenting world events and history. Otherwise you end up with embarrassments like this.
Ralph -- great minds -- I just found your blog thanks to the link at ESWN, and there you are on mine.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I'd be honored.
Michael
according to their website, they want to retake CHINA and set up capital in Nanjing and they want foreign workers in taiwan to leave ASAP. they aren't against Jews, they don't know Jews. Their first convention is this sAturday, March 17, in taiching, sure to be covered by TVBS media etc.
ReplyDeleteNational Socialism Association
ReplyDelete《3月17日春季台中黨大會暨政策辯論開始報名，洽團體活動版！媒體從事人員請至對外聯絡版，感謝！》
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ReplyDelete.
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Wow!
This may be a bit off-topic, but did you all know that Chiang Kai-shek's son was trained by the Nazis in Germany?
I wonder if these students realize that?
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It is real. Check out today's Taipei Times.
ReplyDeleteAnd this was reported online by intl wire service in New York called JTA, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, kind of like an AP for Jewish newspapers worldwide, as a news brief today:
ReplyDeleteHitler inspires Taiwanese group
JTA, news brief
www.jta.org
TAIPEI -- A small group of Taiwanese university students founded an association
using Adolf Hitler as its inspiration. The National Socialism
Association plans to hold a nationwide convention on March 17 to
promote its agenda, which includes revitalizing Taiwan as a nation,
retaking mainland China and setting up a new national capital in
Nanking.
The group claims to have more than 500 members nationwide and a core
leadership of 20 undergraduate and graduate students. Its Web site,
www.twnazi.org, has "Do not come in if you dislike Hitler" emblazoned
in Chinese on the main page, according to a recent report in an
English-language newspaper.
A professor of political science at National Taiwan University, Ger
Yeong-kuang, said he believes the NSA, small and inconsequential as it
is, reflects the country's social malaise due to lingering national
economic and political problems.
Yes, I knew Chiang Kai-Shek's son was a junior officer in the Nazi army. KMT army uniform in the 40s and subsequent years had strong resemblance to the SS troops.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in elementary school I was fascinated by the Nazi army. I read many WWII books. My classmates and I used to goose step in formation! The problem was my teachers never taught us anything about the Holocaust.
Nazis in Taiwan? A social disease that is derivative of the current party in power.
ReplyDeleteForeign workers in the context of this Nazi party excludes expats from America; one such as yourself. This view is also commonly reflected in the masses. Michael you are accepted in our society whilst the “foreign” Chinese wives, Vietnamese, Filipino workers are left with little social securities and constant scrutiny from the general public. Human rights? There are none if DPP continues to be in power. DPP has never planned on addressing the imbalance of social hierarchy but instead it remains focused on the fruitful plunder of the country's resource.
I’ve no doubt you’ll censor my comments; however, I question your true intentions with regards to your undying love to the DPP. DPP has no policies. DPP has no real governing powers. DPP offers only renewed national identify through its petty speeches and charity events. The manipulation of national identify has gone far enough. The rise of this Nazi party is an indication of the ignorance of the masses.
Couple brawling parliaments with corrupt leaders, Taiwan is ripe for independence. No doubt DPP headquarters shall move to the states where Chen will soon reside. No chance of indicting him for trials.
I came across when I did a google search of "taiwan" and "fascism", because Taiwan's "backsliding" into fascism under this "new"-KMT. Fascism by definition is the collusion between government and industry. As an erstwhile "re-pat" (family friend executed for free speech, liberal parents fled from KMT fascism 30 years ago), I am disappointed that the DPP focused too much on a cult of personality, and didn't do nearly enough to bring power to the working class (of all nationalities) in Taiwan.
ReplyDeleteFascism demands that a segment of population be relegated to cheap or slave labor, e.g. African slavery in the U.S., work camps in various fascist/national-communist incarnations world-wide. Both capitalist aristocrats and "socialist" aristocrats want workers to be under control. Aristocracy wants to regulate the association and communication between workers. But we know what's best for us. We don't need some charismatic leader (of either parties) to tell us... much less some middle-class kids infatuated with role-playing.
I'm (naturalized) immigrant labor in the U.S. I have worked for years as an organizer with the United Automobile Workers labor union that 30 years ago (and much more ignorant) used to encourage their workers to smash "rice burners." But my progressive labor colleagues and I see common cause, and are increasingly immune to the divisive tactics and lies of the employer-class.