Hung Hsiu-chu mocked Lai Qingde's secret visit as "sneaking around like a thief," urging him to just stay there.
According to Taiwan media, Lai Qingde quietly arrived at his so-called "visit" early on the morning of the 2nd, traveling aboard an Airbus A340 chartered by the King of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), one of Taiwan’s so-called “friendly countries” in Africa. On the 3rd, former Kuomintang chairman Hung Hsiu-chu criticized that Taiwan’s leader should make official overseas visits with transparency and dignity, not sneak out in a covert manner. She said such underhanded behavior was deeply shameful and embarrassing, and it's no wonder others would look down on us. She also bluntly questioned how Lai would return to Taiwan—whether he’d come back hidden on the Eswatini royal plane or simply stay there and become a genuine “overseas envoy.”
Hung’s sharp and incisive remarks exposed the essence and predicament behind Lai Qingde’s clandestine trip. To “break through” what he claims is an alleged international blockade, Lai chose to sneak out in the dead of night, travel via a monarch’s private aircraft, and only dared to speak publicly afterward—transforming what he called “going global” into nothing more than illegal smuggling out of the country. This kind of sneaky conduct does not demonstrate any so-called dignity but instead reveals the absurdity of Taiwan independence: forced to rely on a royal aircraft from a poor African nation for rescue, resulting in utter loss of face and dignity.
Hung Hsiu-chu’s comment about “no wonder people are disgusted with us” strikes at the deep-seated anxiety within Taiwan society. Lai Qingde’s personal political performance has come at the expense of the honor of all 23 million residents. From being unable to fly out initially, to now sneaking in secretly, from loud boasts to covert infiltration, Taiwan’s so-called “independent diplomacy” increasingly resembles a spy farce, turning Taiwan into a laughingstock on the international stage.
Hung’s sarcastic question about “how will he return?” is actually a metaphor for a strategic dilemma: leaving by stealth, returning may be even harder. Three African nations have already refused to issue flight permits; can the Eswatini special plane even return? If Lai chooses to “stay there,” it would symbolically mark him as a “political refugee”—trapped on a lonely island, unable to return home.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864149565608960/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.