Fili’s world

An international Jewish human rights organization this week condemned a year-old network of Taiwan political activists who revere Adolf Hitler, and an Israeli official said he would protest to the Taiwan government. [...]

About 1,000 people, all from Taiwan and mostly college-aged, belong to the 19-month-old National Socialist Association, said self-described “main leader” Yue Shu-ya, 23, of Taipei. Members usually communicate via their Web site, [fiLi - link removed], he said. [...]

However, he said, he advocated imposing limits on the number of foreign

workers in Taiwan. “My main goal is to develop Taiwan’s strength and to foster national unity,” Chao said. “I think we have to work hard to restore traditional Chinese values like Confucianism.”

What do officials think about why this is happening?

Israel’s : “(The group) is a reflection of ignorance and an emotional void as well as psychological and social sickness, or a combination of all the above,” said Raphael Gazmou, the Israel Economic and Cultural Office representative in Taipei.

“It’s also particularly sad that in Taiwan, where people have managed to achieve democracy and human rights, there is this kind of nostalgia for monsters as role model,” he said.

Taiwan’s : Emile Sheng, formerly of Taipei’s Soochow University, and now an official in the city’s municipal government, said the emergence of Taiwan’s Nazi movement reflected the island’s ignorance of modern Western history.
“People here don’t really understand what Nazism is,” he said. “They’re not really racist or anti-Jewish. They don’t even know what it means.”
Sheng said one of his students at Soochow had been Hsu Na-chi, who is the
other founder of the National Socialism Association.

This case is interesting, for many reasons, but I’ll refrain from discussing it. I will say, though, that I believe almost every western democratic country has somesort of a similar group, some more public than others, and so, this isn’t a unique phenomenon - but it does draw attention due to the fact it takes place in an Asian country.

There are the “talkbacks” (AKA comments) on this post, which are mainly from Jews outside Israel. I always considered Israeli talkbacks as complete crap, and most of those justify that (especially Jehiel’s which is just sad), but I will quote one :

Robin : Don’t jump to conclusions victimizing yourself. I strongly believe this has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. As far as I can see, Taiwan and Israel have little involvement with each other, and there’s absolutely no reason why Taiwanese would want to offend Jewish.

When I studied in Taiwan during the 2004 presidential elections, a candidate was blamed for proposing Hitler policies. When it came to my European ears, I was shocked. How could they so lightheartedly refer to this figure, when the allegations were skin-deep and didn’t cut ice? Taiwanese references to Hitler are to be seen as a scream for attention.

They do not grasp the sensitivity of the subject, only that it causes a ripple. In my humble view, the best response for Israel would be stand tall and disregard. For it is easier to read their motivation for referring to the topic, than having them understand and act in accordance with your emotional connotation.