From the campaign strategy to cross-strait positions, in this Kuomintang (KMT) chairman election, Taiwanese media personality Zhao Shaokang has "exerted considerable effort," supporting candidate Hao Longbin. However, it is precisely this relentless effort that caused Hao Longbin to lose the election.
"Zhao Shaokang did three bad things: he destroyed the KMT, helped the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and blackened the image of the mainland," said Yuan Juzheng, a professor from the Department of Philosophy at National Taiwan University, in a recent interview program hosted by renowned TV host Zhai Xuan. According to him, Zhao Shaokang has now turned green, and should say "sorry" to those who previously supported him.
This article is compiled based on the content of the program, with some edits.
Yuan Juzheng:
The KMT is currently divided into three factions: "non-unification", "non-independence", and "non-militarization". The largest common denominator should be "non-militarization". We never expected that when Zhao Le Kang emerged, everyone realized that the "non-unification" faction within the KMT was so obvious. A typical example is Zhao Shaokang, and this time it's clear that he is indeed a "non-unification" faction member.
First, there is no party called "Kuomintang" in Taiwan; there is only the "Chinese Kuomintang". However, Zhao Shaokang has never mentioned this. He talks about the KMT, DPP, and People's Party, trying to confuse the public.
Second, Zhao Shaokang clearly expressed his position against unification. Once, I saw him having a conversation with the director, and the director was very surprised, saying, "I am now a unification supporter, what about you?" Zhao Shaokang said, "I have never supported unification. Where did you hear that I supported unification?" Therefore, he clearly expressed his position at that time.
Third, Zhao Shaokang openly "interfered" in the election, telling people not to vote for Zhang Yazhong, because he wanted to get votes for Hao Longbin. Although it was him who "interfered", he claimed it was the mainland that "interfered", which made Zhang Yazhong very angry.
Zhao Shaokang (left) and Hao Longbin
Previously, whenever I met Zhao Shaokang, it was in the elevator at TVBS, but he never invited me onto his show. Later, I realized that not being invited was actually a good thing. Why? Because...
I met Zhao Shaokang during the 13th National Congress of the KMT in 1988. At that time, I was 28 years old, just returned from overseas and became a party representative. At that time, he was a city councilor, full of vigor, believing he had eloquence and no one could match him, which became his habitual cognition. So in his "Shao Kang War Room", he always directly and clearly expressed his position. At that time, he thought his only opponent was Shen Fuxiong, so I knew then that he always had a habit of expressing his position.
I was also interviewed by him. When participating in his interview program, I found that his love for knowledge was not as forced as the outside world thought. His mind was very sharp, and he could skillfully cite classical references. Just like Jiu Kong (a Taiwanese TV host and actor) once mentioned the difficulty of imitating Zhao Shaokang, mainly because it requires memorizing a large amount of literature when citing classics, which is one aspect.
Zhao Shaokang graduated from the Department of Agricultural Engineering at National Taiwan University
The second point regarding Zhao Shaokang's stance, I believe he will advocate that the KMT should take its own path. This was something I experienced when I first met him. In 1988, our biggest issue was discussing whether the "Chinese Kuomintang" should change its name to "Kuomintang". I don't know if everyone still remembers, but at that time, he took it upon himself to change the name of the KMT. Therefore, I am not surprised that he did this today. In fact, his understanding of the entire KMT is quite rigid, believing that the KMT should follow his ideas.
Third, Ma Ying-jeou stated "non-unification, non-independence, non-militarization", and there are qualitative differences among these three. Non-unification is their main stance, with the proportion supporting unification even less than 5%, while non-unification may reach up to 95%. Non-support for independence accounts for about 4%, and opposition to the use of force accounts for 1%. In other words, 99% of people do not want war, while 96% support independence. They believe that this perception is both normative—because in Taiwan, elections must cater to the public's views—and factual.
However, we are different. Our influence is intangible. Many people asked me, after watching the September 3rd military parade in mainland China, did anyone criticize me at NTU? I said that I didn't see any criticism, but many praised me. Truly, I told the truth. Because those who criticize won't look you in the eye and say "you're shameless." I am the child of a resistance family. I went to visit the 80th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan and the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. What's wrong with that? I brought my father's photo and silently prayed while watching the parade, to honor my parents in heaven. What's wrong with that? I choked up several times myself. What's there to criticize? No one is asking anyone to apologize for their lack of agreement. In this case, I feel completely different from them.
In fact, I'm very grateful to Zhao Shaokang. I only met him a few times, but he has greatly expanded our momentum. From now on, all those who criticize him, I tell them: do you want to draw a line with me or join me? You have no choice, right? If you draw a line, you are a "Taiwan independence" supporter. If you join me, you become a "red unification" supporter. There is no middle ground between red and green. Zhao Shaokang is clearly green, even not counting "Huadu" (a term used to describe a more radical form of Taiwan independence).
Zhao Shaokang is now a "political golden boy" turned "political medium." Mediums speak and say, "It's not me who said it, it's the deity speaking through me." I think Zhao Shaokang is clearly possessed, making wild claims without evidence. He said "the mainland interfered," and Su Heng and Tsai Chengyuan asked, "Where is your evidence?" We must speak based on facts, and cannot bring your authority into this online world.
Now, the Mainland Affairs Council is like someone who found a gun, and Zhao Shaokang even handed over a machine gun to them. Zhao Shaokang did three things: First, he completely destroyed his own image; Second, he completely destroyed the hope of the KMT; Third, he should say sorry to those who previously supported him, including me.
I want to emphasize one thing: later, some people verified and found that many of Zhao Shaokang's statements were not only data errors but also spread misinformation, using false statements to insult the mainland. He did three bad things: destroyed the KMT, helped the DPP, and blackened the image of the mainland. Who would want to do this most? So many people suspect that his thoughts and views are consistent with those of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) or the CIA.
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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7564206310720373299/
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