An article by senior media personality Liu Ping titled “Japan Needs to Apologize to Indigenous Peoples Even More” has sparked a heated debate online. Since August 1, I have found it quite strange: why did Tsai Ing-wen, as the current President of the Republic of China (R.O.C.), suddenly decide to issue a formal apology to the Austronesian groups (now known as Indigenous peoples)?
Is Tsai simply trying to imitate former President Ma Ying-jeou’s apologies to the victims of the 228 Incident? If so, her grasp of history might be severely lacking.
📜 Who is the Real Aggressor?
Before the Qing Dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan following its military defeat, the relationship between the Han Chinese and the Austronesian peoples during the Ming and Qing dynasties was more akin to two independent, equal entities.
This dynamic only began to change with Japan’s first invasion of Taiwan during the Mudan Incident. During the Japanese colonial era, the colonial government conducted large-scale, bloody “village clearances” and brutal treatment of the Austronesian people. The Musha Incident of 1930, in particular, was an act of unilateral massacre by the Japanese government.
Following the retrocession of Taiwan, the main failure of the Republic of China (R.O.C.) government toward the Austronesian peoples was a lack of large-scale resources for tribal development. However, in other respects, the government was not overly harsh; its flaws were primarily issues of national development strategy. So, what exactly is Tsai Ing-wen apologizing for? And in what capacity is she apologizing?
🇯🇵 Tsai Should Demand an Apology from Japan
The ones who truly owe an apology to the Austronesian peoples are the Japanese.
If Tsai Ing-wen is sincere about apologizing to the Indigenous peoples, her primary task should not be stepping forward to apologize herself, but issuing a formal statement demanding an apology from the Japanese government!
This would truly align with the phrase Tsai constantly repeats: “I am here to solve problems.” Otherwise, it’s hard for anyone to believe a word from a person who cannot even identify the true root of the problem.