Taiwan's criminal law prohibiting citizens from defacing portraits of Sun Yat-sen

Article 160 of the Criminal Law of the Republic of China:

A person who with purpose to insult the Republic of China openly damages, removes, or dishonors the emblem of the Republic of China or the flag of the Republic of China shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year, short-term imprisonment, or a fine of not more than nine thousand dollars.
A person who with purpose to insult the founder the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, openly damages, removes, or dishonors his portrait shall be subject to the same punishment.

What do you think of Taiwan’s criminal law prohibiting citizens from defacing portraits of Sun Yat-sen

Would this be considered a form of personality cult? Deifying Sun Yat-sen?

Well thats not a very stiff penalty. I dont agree with that being illegal but still tame compared to say insulting the King of Thailand in Thailand or cartoons of Mohammed anywhere in the Moslim world… Taiwan is a very free country (Cannabis laws aside)

Good for Taiwan. Being a free country doesn’t mean being an irresponsible one.

Sun Yat Sen is the Father of modern Taiwan and is the only figure that both the ROC and the PROC are brought together by.

Ideally it would just be vandalism. Uneccessary hate crime and public offence laws are similar.

1 Like

Sun is not the typical target of vandalism. It’s usually the remaining statues of CKS due to the killings and other forms of state violence he authorized in Taiwan.

Guy

1 Like

CKS is one of the founding fathers of Taiwan for better or for worse.

A society that learns to respect their fathers and accept their misgivings is better for it.

as far as the deaths - you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.

Just look at today’s expendable in Taiwan and the losses that aren’t talked about: the unborn children of Taiwan.

Just look at the contemporary leaders - should we allow for their memories to be vandalized as they have allowed Taiwan to have a “modern” country at the cost of such a horrible birth rate? How would history view them?

It is not irresponsible to have the freedom to criticise politicians.

There is no need to be brought together with the communists. Taiwan can be Taiwan with its own figures that have actually lived here and contributed.

AFAIK it’s unenforced and a holdover from the KMT dictatorship.

1 Like

Sun Yat Sen never even visited Taiwan. Never ate betelnut. Never wore blue ć‹–éž‹. Never rode his Vespa over Chungshan bridge at 4 am drunk and with no helmet on.

How is he the father of Taiwan?