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Whampoa spirit as ¡¥one¡¦ is history
By Lu I-ming §f¤@»Ê
Tuesday, May 18, 2010, Page 8
One of the eternal themes of Chinese history is that ¡§he who conquers is crowned
king, he who fails is a brigand.¡¨ Official histories have mostly been written by
those in power, while stirring tales of the vanquished circulate as unofficial
histories or folk tales. The history of Whampoa Military Academy is viewed
differently in China and Taiwan, but there is one common factor ¡X the role of
academy founder Sun Yat-sen (®]¶h¥P).
Sun was chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and is considered the
father of the Republic of China. From Beijing¡¦s point of view, Sun was a pioneer
of the Chinese revolution and his historical status is on a par with Mao Zedong
(¤ò¿AªF). This shared respect for Sun has led to a relative decline in the status
of Chiang Kai-shek (½±¤¶¥Û), the long-term commandant of the academy. This focus is
evident in the title of a forum on the subject held in Taipei a few days ago:
¡§Dr Sun Yat-sen, the Whampoa Military Academy and Cross-Strait Relations.¡¨
All speakers at the forum, when talking about Sun, echoed one another in calling
for people to adhere to the spirit of our forebears and to promote the peaceful
development of cross-strait relations.
In reality, the real founding father of the academy, which was established in
1924, was Chiang. It was he who established the Whampoa revolutionary spirit
that was to inspire the Northern Expedition and the war of resistance against
Japan. However, Chiang did not choose his friends wisely. Many of those who
later rose in rebellion against him were former students and colleagues.
In the end, Chiang was defeated and withdrew to Taiwan where he died in 1975.
The Whampoa graduates Chiang brought with him to Taiwan are now forgetting their
roots. Instead, they echo China¡¦s version of history and that of the Whampoa
graduates who threw their lot in with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), by
suggesting above all else that the academy represented a period of successful
united front cooperation between the KMT and the CCP thanks to former Chinese
premier Zhou Enlai (©P®¦¨Ó), who was director of the academy¡¦s political
department. They also reiterated the claim that Zhou, on his deathbed, called on
his countrymen not to forget Taiwan ¡X meaning the task of unifying Taiwan with
China.
Whampoa Military Academy enrolled students for six academic terms during the
first KMT-CCP united front (1923-1927), during which 7,399 graduated from the
first five intakes, but only 718 from the sixth in February 1929. Graduates of
these first six intakes enjoyed high status and strong influence in KMT military
circles. Moreover, there was a strict adherence to seniority favoring earlier
graduates, who went on to exert considerable influence over those who followed.
Few graduates of this period are still alive in either Taiwan or China, so the
recent forum was dominated by later graduates. The theme they chose was: ¡§Uphold
Sun Yat-sen¡¦s principles, enhance and glorify the Whampoa spirit and promote the
peaceful development of cross-strait relations.¡¨
Chiang¡¦s role was intentionally glossed over, probably because of his staunch
opposition to communism and his adherence to the camp of democratic nations.
After all, Article 1 of the KMT Charter says that the party¡¦s purpose is to
¡§realize a free, democratic Republic of China in which every citizen prospers,¡¨
and that is something that will not change anytime soon.
There is nothing wrong with Whampoa alumni engaging in lively debate, but it no
longer has anything to do with the Whampoa spirit. The CCP¡¦s version of Whampoa
is dominated by Marxism-Leninism and the ideologies of Mao Zedong and Deng
Xiaoping (¾H¤p¥) and it is seen as a precursor to the People¡¦s Liberation Army.
In contrast, Taiwan has long since nationalized its armed forces so that they
are now loyal not to the KMT, but to the democratic state and the people, as
expressed in the motto ¡§Nation, duty, honor.¡¨ In this sense, the armed forces of
China and Taiwan could not be more different.
It¡¦s fine to have a forum if it is just a social activity for academy alumni,
but if it has the ulterior motive of borrowing from historical Whampoa to
encourage Taiwanese to support the government¡¦s approach to cross-strait
relations today, then it inevitably runs up against the fact that the military
systems of Taiwan and China are fundamentally different.
Lu I-ming is the former publisher and president of Taiwan Shin
Sheng Daily News.
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