Koh Se-kai
Koh Se-kai ( Taiwanese Khó͘ Sè-khái, Chinese 許世楷 , Pinyin Xŭ Shìkǎi ; born July 7, 1934 in Changhua , Taiwan ) is a Taiwanese historian, political scientist and former diplomat. He is a leading figure and past chairman of the Association for an Independent Taiwan . From 2004 to 2008 he was the representative of Taiwan in Japan . Koh played a leading role in drafting a constitution for the Republic of Taiwan .
Life
Childhood and youth
Koh Se-kai was born during the Japanese rule over Taiwan . At the age of six he had the chance to start school in Japan. This was at that time a privilege, because at that time the vast majority of Taiwanese children was only the way to the General elementary school open while the primary schools were visited almost exclusively by Japanese children and enjoyed much higher prestige. However, Koh's family was hostile to Japanese rule, and his grandfather was even involved in the Association for Taiwanese Culture , which advocated strengthening Taiwanese identity against the assimilation policy of the Japanese. The family therefore refused to send Koh to Japanese elementary school. However, the general elementary school , which Koh then attended, was also taught exclusively in Japanese (the use of the pupils' mother tongues was prohibited), so that the boy soon became fluent in the Japanese language.
After Japan's defeat in World War II and the resulting surrender of Taiwan to the Republic of China, Koh went through the radically reorganized school system of the Kuomintang government, which taught exclusively in Chinese and taught students both the use of Japanese and their native languages ( Taiwanese , Hakka, and native languages ) was prohibited under penalty. The experience that the Japanese assimilation policy was only replaced by a different assimilation policy by the Kuomintang government had a decisive influence on Koh.
Academic career and political activity
Koh graduated from Taiwan National University in 1957 with a degree in Politics . After completing his military service, he went on a scholarship to Waseda University in Tokyo in 1957 , where he earned a master's degree in politics in 1962. Subsequently, Koh went to the University of Tokyo and earned a doctorate in law in 1968. He then worked as a professor at Tsuda University in Tokyo .
In 1972 Koh published his most important scientific monograph to date under the title Taiwan under Japanese rule . In contrast to the educational policy pursued by the Kuomintang dictatorship at the time of the blanket demonization of Japanese rule over Taiwan , Koh paints a more balanced picture, taking into account a variety of sources, in which he examines both the negative and positive aspects of the colonial era and demonstrates how himself asserted a local Taiwanese identity in opposition to the Japanese policy of assimilation. The content of the work ran counter to the official ideology, which is why it was banned by the Kuomintang government and initially only appeared in Japanese. The Chinese version was only created after the end of the dictatorship.
While studying, Koh joined the Young Taiwanese Association (later renamed Association Young Taiwanese for Independence ). This association took a critical stance on the Kuomintang dictatorship in Taiwan and called for the introduction of democracy and the independence of Taiwan. Because of his membership, Koh was put on the dictatorship's " black list ". His passport was confiscated by the Embassy of the Republic of China in Tokyo. If he returned to Taiwan, he was threatened with imprisonment, which is why Koh was unable to return to his homeland for over 30 years and stayed in Japan.
In 1970 he was elected to the Central Committee of the Association of Taiwanese Abroad for an Independent Taiwan in New York . From 1987 to 1991 he was the chairman of this association.
Return to Taiwan and diplomatic activity in Japan
In the course of the democratization of Taiwan, Koh was able to return to his homeland in 1992, where he taught at the Yushan Theological Seminary in Hualien County and at Providence University in Taichung . Koh joined the Taiwan Independence Party and ran unsuccessfully in the 1995 and 1998 MPs for the Legislative Yuan , the parliament of the Republic of China. From 1997 to 1998 he was the chairman of his party.
In 2004, President Chen Shui-bian ( Democratic Progressive Party ) appointed Koh to head the Taipei Economic and Cultural Bureau of the Republic of China in Japan. During his four-year tenure, Koh had some diplomatic successes. In 2005, the visa requirement for Taiwanese tourists in Japan was abolished and in 2007 Taiwan and Japan agreed on mutual recognition of each other's driving licenses . After the Kuomintang's victory in the Taiwanese presidential election in 2008 , Koh was dismissed from his post by the new President Ma Ying-jeou . Since then, Koh has been retired. In 2009, Mayor Jason Hu appointed him to the Taichung City Government Advisory Board.
Koh Se-kai is married to the author Lu Chien-hui .
Political position
Koh is committed to an independent Republic of Taiwan whose territory will include the main island of Taiwan, the Penghu Islands and the Pacific islands of Lü Dao and Lan Yu . This excludes the islands of Jinmen and Matsu , which belong to the Chinese province of Fujian and which are currently still controlled by the Republic of China.
The rule of the Republic of China over Taiwan would come to an end. The Basic Law of the Republic of China previously applied in Taiwan, which is based on the sole validity of the teachings of Sun Yat-sen , would then become obsolete and would be replaced by a new Basic Law.
In terms of foreign policy, Koh calls for Taiwan's admission to the international community, equal relations with the People's Republic of China and close cooperation with Japan and the USA.
See also
Web links
- Brief portrait on the website of the Association for an Independent Taiwan (chin.)
- Brief profile on the website of the Taiwanese representation in Japan
Individual evidence
literature
- Koh Se-kai: 日本 統治 下 の 台湾Nihon tochi ka no Taiwan (Taiwan under Japanese rule) , University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo 1972; Chinese edition: 日本 統治 下 的 台灣Riben tongzhi xia de Taiwan , 玉山社 Yushan she, Taipei 2006, ISBN 986-7375-54-8 .
- Koh Se-kai, 盧千惠Lu Chien-hui : 台灣 是 台灣 人 的 國家Taiwan shi Taiwanren de guojia (Taiwan is the country of the Taiwanese) , 玉山社 Yushan she, Taipei 2008, ISBN 978-986-6789-40-3 (contains an autobiography of the authors).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Koh Se-kai |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Khó͘ Sè-khái |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Taiwanese historian, political scientist and former diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 7, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Changhua , Taiwan |