|
Su Beng is an example
for Taiwan
By Paul Lin 林保華
The “three little pigs” donation campaign of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
signifies a further awakening among the public and represents a turning point in
Taiwan’s democracy movement.
Wednesday was the 93rd birthday of Su Beng (史明), one of the pioneers of Taiwan’s
nation-building and democracy movements. The Su Beng Education Foundation
organized a concert to celebrate the occasion and this is a good time to revisit
Su’s contributions and provide them as an example that may be followed during
the struggles Taiwan may face in the future.
Director and orchestra conductor Tseng Dau-hsiong (曾道雄) has praised Su as a
“national treasure.” Here are a few thoughts about the “Taiwanese values” Su
embodies:
First, Su has spent both money and energy on his causes, making permanent
contributions to social and political movements. He donated all the money he
made from when he ran a noodle shop in Japan to these movements. Just as Tseng
said, Su’s actions are true contributions and he has never asked for anything in
return. This is very different from many politicians, who only think in terms of
their own personal interests or the interests of whatever political faction they
belong to.
Second, Su has both a theoretical and a practical basis. Despite being born into
a wealthy family in Shilin District (士林), Taipei, Su’s heart is full of
compassion and he has a strong desire to help people who have suffered major
injustices. As a result, he went to study in Japan, where he came into contact
with Marxism. He later went to China, where he worked as a spy against the
Japanese and joined the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) armed struggle to
overthrow the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). After returning to Taiwan, he
went into exile in Japan.
While working for the revolution, he also completed his significant work, titled
Taiwan’s 400-Year History (台灣人四百年史) in the early 1960s, which became a classic
theoretical base for the promotion of Taiwanese independence. Even after
Taiwanese gained universal suffrage, Taiwan still faced many injustices and Su
personally led his Association for Taiwan Independence Action, organizing and
directing street protests, including in 2005, when former vice president Lien
Chan (連戰) was intercepted on a highway on his way to catch a flight to China to
pay tribute there. At that time, Su was almost 90 years old.
Third, Su has clear goals and strategies. He understands the CCP’s unification
strategies. Therefore, while he employed radical means in the pursuit of his
revolutionary goals, he has never acted aggressively in isolation, but always
stresses the need to unite “progressive Chinese people” with Mainlanders in
Taiwan who see Taiwan as their home and to ease the tensions caused by Taiwanese
and Chinese nationalism. He has also stressed that independence and nation
building cannot be realized by merely chanting radical slogans.
Fourth, Su is resolute and capable of self-reflection. While upholding his
principles for Taiwan’s nation building and its democratic movement, he
continuously engages in self--reflection and keeps in step with the times.
When he was in China, he witnessed the CCP’s inhumanity and made the decision to
leave it and return to Taiwan. After the DPP lost the -legislative elections and
the ensuing presidential vote in 2008, Su, widely viewed as “deep green,” looked
at the mistakes the DPP made during its eight years in office and quickly came
to support the new, reasonable and rational policies proposed by DPP Chairperson
Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for reforming the party and for resisting the KMT from both
inside and outside the system. His support can make more people better
understand Tsai. It is indeed remarkable for a 90-something “revolutionary” to
not be biased and to care so much about the younger generations.
Supposing the DPP regains office next year, it will have the tough challenge of
implementing transitional justice. For the sake of domestic unity, it will not
use simplistic and brutal methods. The “Taiwanese values” embodied by Su are
also the same values of “passion, reason and forgiveness” Tsai announced at a
rally attended by 70,000 people in Greater Kaohsiung on Saturday last week.
It is these values that will decide who wins the election and bring about the
birth of a new Taiwan.
Paul Lin is a political commentator.
Translated by Drew Cameron
|
