Attack on veteran in Taiwan condemned

A viral online video that shows a woman insulting a Chinese civil war veteran in Taiwan has drawn condemnation from officials and experts on both sides of the Straits.

The two-minute clip filmed in a park in Kaohsiung shows Hung Su-chu, a self-proclaimed citizen journalist, confronting an elderly man who was among those who retreated to the island after the war ended in 1949.

She first calls the man-identified later as 89-year-old Chow Fu-wen - a shameless mainland refugee and then demands he return to the mainland.

Hung shared the video on her Facebook page on Thursday. She later removed it after receiving heavy criticism, but fellow users then shared the footage on other social media, and it went viral.

Political leaders on the island were quick to condemn the video.

Tsai Ing-wen, the Taiwan leader and head of the Democratic Progressive Party, issued a statement via social media on Friday that said no one should be attacked based on their identity.

She forwarded a similarly critical post by Hung Hsiu-chu, chairwoman of the rival Kuomintang party, that read, "Any hate-filled remark, we should condemn; any prejudice against identity, we should prevent from spreading."

"I'm the son of a veteran. I'm proud ofmy father," JasonHu, vice-chairman of the KMT, said on Sunday while attending the eighth Straits Forum in Xiamen, Fujian province.

"The vast majority of the public in Taiwan condemn the video, which is narrow and splits society", Hu said.

According to Taiwan-based Central News Agency, protesters gathered on Friday in front of the offices of Taiwan Civil Government, a pro-Taiwan-independence group that Hung Su-chu claimed to work for, in New Taipei City.

Ina statement, the organization said, "The abuse of elderly veterans by Hung has nothing to do with Taiwan Civil Government."

Huang Hai-lung, president of the Overseas Chinese Association, based in Taipei, said the video was an isolated case.

"Clowns can be seen anywhere, during any period," he said. "We don't need to pay special attention to them. But at the same time we should be careful not to let them spread the sensation."

Ni Yongjie, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Taiwan Studies, said the video doesn't represent mainstream thinking on the island.

"On the contrary. The criticism from both sides shows the common view across the Straits and among political parties in Taiwan," he said.

Contact the writers through pengyining@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/14/2016 page4)