Poisoning of Taiwan's politics

In the countdown to when newly elected Taiwan leader Tsai Ying-wen is due to take office in May, separatists on the island seem to be accelerating their activities aimed at "de-sinification".

On Sunday morning, the 69th anniversary of Taiwan's blood-shedding "Feb 28 Event", petrol bombs were thrown into the square in front of the Kuomintang headquarters. This occurred the day after a number of bronze statues of former leader Chiang Kai-shek were sprayed with paint.

Though the Chiang-led Kuomintang turned Taiwan into an economic success after Chiang and his followers fled there from the mainland, the political environment he and his son and successor Chiang Ching-kuo forged has fostered the forces in the island that are intent on not only confronting Beijing but also taking steps toward "de-sinification" to remove all the heritage the Kuomintang painstakingly cultivated of its roots.