Taiwan Church News
3383 Edition
26 December 2016 – 1 January 2017
Editorial
They Do Not Know What They Are Doing
According to a recent social survey, published by the Ipsos “Index of ignorance” Table, Taiwan is ranked the third most ignorant country in the world. This news becomes a hot issue in Taiwan society. As the design of such a social survey is found being conducted through internet only and quite inclined toward a middle-class perspective, most Taiwan media see this news as a humorous reminder and not take it seriously.
But, about the same time when this survey is released, breaks out the coverage of the irksome Nazi cosplay event, occurred at an anniversary celebration of Hsin Chu Kuang Fu High School on December 23, incurring the strongest protests immediately from both Israeli and German diplomatic offices in Taiwan. This shockingly deplorable and regrettable cosplay about the Nazi symbols forces Taiwan society to reflect if it’s no surprise that Taiwan deserves a title of the third most ignorant country in the world?
As a matter of fact, not only the Nazi cosplay event trespasses the red line of human rights in the high school’s anniversary celebration, another cosplay imitating the Musha Incident in the same Kuang Fu High School is also a disappointing performance when the master of the ceremony help to raise the voice:”Down the japs, restore the Chinese!”. The strange part of this slogan is not just using the “japs” to mock the Japanese, but an absolutely wrong historical knowledge mistaking an aboriginal Seediq revolt against the Japanese military oppression as a warfare of the Chinese fighting modern Japanese forces. What a poisonous effects left behind by any educational policy immersed in authoritarianism!
Though the Holocaust is the most heinous crime ever committed by the Nazi in human history, a very embarrassing fact about the Nazi cosplay in Kuang Fu High School is that the supervising teacher of those cosplay students is a history teacher and plays Hitler himself in the cosplay parade. Taiwan society is even more stunned by some students’ urge to support their school’s original stance after their principal and the responsible officials had made their formal apology to the public. It is obvious that there is something critically out of track in Taiwan’s history education!
An open letter of Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei(IECOT) urges Taiwan government to arrange a proper education plan, informing Taiwan students the genuine historical significance of the Holocaust. And, if there is anything needs their support, IECOT would help. German Institute in Taipei also remarks, “Sadly, the students clearly do not understand that the Nazi symbol stands for disregard for human rights and oppression”.
Condemnation, in fact, would do nothing positive to rescue Taiwan society from these stunning chaos. On the contrary, it could be easily cause a further temptation of self-righteousness, as our shallow knowledge of history is a common crooked nature inside of us. When Jesus was surrounded by those onlookers, played the clown by the soldiers, and even scoffed by the leaders saying “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!”, we as the followers of the Lord Christ also need to meditate what Jesus said at the moment of his crucifixion: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing!”.
Just like Jesus sacrificed himself at the moment of human’s ignorant evil, Christians as the pardoned sinners were also very vulnerable to the demagogic ignorance and evil in history. In some radically chaotic days, some Christians even succumbed themselves to the temptation of self-righteousness and violence and forgot their true color as the sinners. So, when the complacent Christians lost their initial hearts, the only salvation is to turn back and confess before God. Only through recognizing our sin and ignorance, a soft heart of compassion and love could be back!
