by Brian Hioe

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Photo Credit: Tsai Ing-wen/Facebook

FORMER PRESIDENT MA YING-JEOU announced yesterday that he would not be attending National Day celebrations this year. Ma claimed this to be in protest of the Tsai administration’s deliberate efforts to remove symbolism of the Republic of China (ROC), instead referring to National Day commemorations as “Taiwan National Day,” and primarily using English phrasing.

The KMT has hit back at the Tsai administration for what it claims to be its efforts at “desinicization” in past years. That is, the Tsai administration’s framing of the nation as “Taiwan” rather than the “ROC” in public events is seen as part of efforts at fomenting “cultural Taiwanese independence”.

But this also would be a way of mobilizing traditionalists within the KMT party base, who increasingly see the ROC framework and national identity as under assault from the Tsai administration. With the backlash against the KMT in the past decade, particularly from young people, traditionalists in the KMT increasingly see their worldview as under attack. Ironically, Ma himself used the “Taiwan National Day” framing in 2010.

Facebook post by Ma Ying-jeou announcing that he will not be attending National Day

In particular, the Tsai administration has moved away from the DPP’s traditional advocacy of Taiwanese independence, seeing as this would provoke military retaliation from China. Instead, the DPP has shifted toward the stance that Taiwan is already a sovereign and independent country by the name of Taiwan and so does not need to declare independence, seeing as Taiwanese independence has traditionally advocated independence from the ROC. This is a pro-status quo position, with the DPP having compromised on its traditional support of Taiwanese independence under the Tsai administration. The Tsai administration refers, then, to the “ROC (Taiwan)” instead of the “ROC”, though the KMT has reacted against this and tried to emphasize that the ROC it supports is not the “ROC (Taiwan).”

This effort to shift away from the traditional iconography of the ROC is even visible in the national day logos chosen by the Tsai administration. Generally speaking, the Tsai administration has avoided the red, white, and blue colors of the national flag, which are closely associated with the KMT.

One notes, for example, that the KMT party logo is the white sun that is part of the ROC flag, symbolism that is reflective of the former party-state. Instead, logos for National Day have often featured blue, green, yellow, and purple–the colors of the Taiwanese political parties that have representation in the legislature. In this way, the Tsai administration has positioned National Day as celebrating Taiwan’s contemporary democracy rather than the political iconography of the former party-state. To distinguish itself from the Ma administration, the Tsai administration has also embraced a modern and stylized design aesthetic for National Day commemorations. Likewise, the commemorations themselves often spotlight Taiwan’s cultural diversity, such as by featuring Indigenous and Hakka performers.

Past logos of National Day

Ma stated that this would be the first time in forty years since he entered public service that he did not attend National Day commemorations. But apart from tapping into the vein of KMT disenfranchisement regarding the ROC, this would again be an attempt to frame the Tsai administration as irrationally and dangerously committed to the project of Taiwanese independence, never mind that the Tsai administration has in fact backed away from the DPP’s traditional Taiwanese independence advocacy. This is an attempt, then, to not only rally the KMT’s base, but to appeal to the Taiwanese public as a whole, in capitalizing on fears regarding military threats from China.

It is to be seen whether other KMT politicians follow suit with Ma–who still commands substantial influence in the KMT–by withdrawing from National Day commemorations. Though KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi was initially reluctant to embrace the 1992 Consensus, as advanced by Ma, he has echoed Ma’s criticisms of National Day under the Tsai administration.

Nevertheless, ironically, it also may be the case that Ma leading a KMT withdrawal from National Day gives the DPP more leeway to re-frame National Day in the future, if it no longer has to consider pan-Blue participation in the event and make efforts at demonstrating bipartisanship. It is for this reason that KMT party colors are always included in the color symbolism for National Day, the Tsai administration would never change the iconography to be completely green, for example. This may be the case with future National Day commemorations, then.
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