TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two days before Taiwan’s nine-in-one municipal elections, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) shared a poem on social media. “Vote for the DPP to send the young straight into war. Vote for the KMT for a Taiwan Strait without war,” said Ma, expressing his hope that Taiwanese will vote to reflect a "desire for peace.”
On Friday (Nov. 25), former UMC Chairman, Robert Tsao (曹興誠) penned a poem in response, criticizing Ma and the KMT. “Vote for the KMT for a Taiwan Strait without war? Draw in the CCP to make Taiwan an executioner’s ground!”
Tsao shared it on his Facebook page with a short post admonishing Ma for trying to “brainwash” the Taiwanese people. He said that Xi Jinping (習近平) has continuously emphasized the goal of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is to seize Taiwan, and warned that Ma’s discourse amounts to surrendering without a fight.
“Of course, if you just surrender, there will be no war in the Taiwan Strait.” However, if the CCP gets its way and has the opportunity to “patriotically re-educate” everyone in Taiwan, then the country will certainly become an executioner’s ground, said Tsao.
Tsao said even Ma should know from history what the CCP did to KMT officers, public education officials, and others after they surrendered at the end of the Chinese Civil War. Tsao said that the CCP killed over 2 million people in the process of “re-education.”
“If you vote for the KMT, then you are voting to sacrifice the Taiwanese people … to achieve the 'Chinese dream of a great rejuvenation,” Tsao said. In contrast to Ma and his alleged mentality of surrender, Tsao urged voters to show the world that Taiwan will not bow to the CCP, and to use their votes to show their bravery in the face of China’s aggression.
Later in the evening on Friday, Tsao penned a second Facebook post in which he expressed concern that if the KMT wins, particularly in Taipei, then foreign countries may think Taiwan is unwilling to stand up to China. Tsao said this could make it more difficult to procure military equipment and secure help from foreign allies in the event of conflict.
Tsao is a billionaire who is using much of his wealth to fund the Kuma Academy, an organization that aims to prepare an armed citizen militia in Taiwan. This is intended to defend the country in the event of a Chinese attack.
Tsao has been very outspoken in his scorn of the KMT in recent months. He has criticized Ma and his administration for using the "one China swindle" as a means of leading Taiwan into the arms of the CCP.
