KMT chair denies honoring CCP spies at White Terror memorial

Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) on Saturday rejected accusations that her participation in a White Terror memorial amounted to paying tribute to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spies, calling the allegation a "serious distortion."

Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Tai Wei-shan (戴瑋姍) earlier criticized Cheng's attendance, arguing that commemorating figures such as Wu Shi (吳石) -- a high-ranking CCP spy who infiltrated the KMT government in the late 1940s -- equates with endorsing Beijing's version of history.

Wu, a senior KMT military officer who secretly worked for the CCP shortly after arriving in Taiwan in 1949, was exposed and executed in 1950 for espionage. China later hailed him as a "revolutionary martyr."

The event, held Saturday at Machangding Memorial Park in Taipei, commemorated those persecuted between 1949 and 1992, when many were imprisoned or executed for alleged political dissent.

Cheng said she accepted the invitation of a group representing the politically persecuted to mourn victims and their families, reflect on the injustices of the period, and advocate for peace -- not to honor intelligence operatives.

She said reports suggesting the memorial focused on Wu were misleading, adding that the annual event has never centered on him, nor was he mentioned in the invitation she received.

Cheng also said that while many suffered during the White Terror because of their political beliefs, Wu and others such as Zhu Feng (朱楓) -- another CCP spy who convicted and executed by the KMT government in 1950 and commemorated at Saturday's event -- do not fall under the recognized definition of political prisoners.

The KMT chair's attendance, however, has not only drawn criticism from the DPP but also raised concerns within her own party.

When asked to comment, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said Saturday that memorial events should honor "those who defended the Republic of China, protected Taiwan, and sacrificed for the nation."