Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Cheng Li-wun/Facebook
A MEMORIAL FOR the Yellow Emperor was held in Shaanxi earlier this month for the Tomb Sweeping Holiday. In attendance was former KMT acting chairperson Lin Jung-tzer, who attended the event along with CCP high-ranking officials such as Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Zhang Zhijun.
The event featured a Taiwanese host and commemorated China’s 34 provinces, of which Taiwan was included as one. This took the form of performing 34 drumbeats at the event.
The unveiling of the Siyuan Tomb at the Huangdi Mausoleum as part of the ceremony, too, was framed as representing the “common ancestry and shared heritage” of peoples across the Taiwan Strait.
Likewise, at the event, Shaanxi governor Zhao Gang stated, “Hong Kong and Macau share a national destiny, their splendid flowers blooming in eternal beauty, and across the surging waves of the [Taiwan] Strait, history forever records the recovery of the beautiful island [Taiwan], with hearts yearning for return, the great trend of unification allows no separatism.”
It is generally thought that much of the memorial ceremony was directed at Taiwan, in this sense. At the same time, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong were, too, emphasized as part of China at the event.
Consequently, the ceremony has been termed a United Front ploy. It is common to see the claim that Taiwan and China share a common cultural heritage that stretches back to antiquity, as “descendants of the Yellow Emperor”.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council has hit out at the ceremony, stating that China is seeking to incorporate the myth of the Yellow Emperor into Tomb Sweeping celebrations to try and make a culturalist appeal of shared origins to Taiwan. Nevertheless, one has seen such claims embraced by many KMT politicians, including current chair Cheng Li-wun. On past occasions, Cheng has stated that she hopes to one day see Taiwanese proud to be Chinese, while also emphasizing her view that Taiwanese are Chinese.
The ceremony has attracted special attention because it occurred shortly before a trip to China by Cheng. Cheng was invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping, with Cheng having angled for such a meeting since the start of her tenure as chair. It is probable that Cheng’s visit will see similar optics. Cheng set out for China yesterday.
The ceremony takes place not long after a new law was announced by the Chinese government on ethnic unity. The law claims that China’s “ethnic minorities” are all part of the Zhonghua Minzu (中華民族), enshrining a notion of Chinese civilizational race that includes the 56 officially acknowledged ethnic groups in China.
Yet the law has been criticized as furthering Han dominance, effectively forcing differing ethnic groups to assimilate into the Han majority. The law specifies punishments for disrupting ethnic harmony, leading to the possibility of further reprisals against individuals termed secessionist or otherwise advocating against racial integration. Indeed, the notion of all Chinese being descended from the Yellow Emperor centers Han Chinese above any other group, in that the Yellow Emperor is considered the mythic ancestor of Han civilization.
From this, one can see how China’s “unity” functions–with reprisals against those who do not comply with unity. This should not surprise. One notes the use of such public events by the Chinese government to reinforce claims over Taiwan. This, too, occurs with Lunar New Year events that are broadcast nationally.