The Path of Most Resistance: Interview with Activist Yifang Hong.

The path of most resistance: Why a queer feminist activist is working for the KMT

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) just elected a new chairman this past week, Eric Chu. Among the many challenges he faces is the KMT’s unpopularity among younger voters in Taiwan. Common wisdom says young Taiwanese voters do not agree with the KMT’s conservative social stance, and are deeply suspicious of the KMT’s China-friendly rhetoric.  

So it was a shock when Yifang Hong, a 22 year old former leader of National Taiwan University’s Feminist Club and Vice President of NTU Student Association, joined the KMT as an assistant researcher in the Youth Department. Aurora Chang of Ketagalan Media spoke to Hong last week, right before the KMT Chairman election. 

Aurora Chang: What exactly is “Blue Youth” (藍營青年)?

Yifang Hong: The definition of “Blue Youth” (藍營青年) actually changed in recent years, to include supporters of 台灣民眾黨 (Taiwan People’s Party) and other small parties in addition to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). 藍營青年 I would say is youth that support the existence and name of the ROC (Republic of China), but don’t necessarily support unification with the PRC (People’s Republic of China). The stance of unification in Taiwan’s current political spectrum has come to be a very extreme idea. In the past, unification could be considered a very 淺藍 (light blue) stance, but right now unification is very 深藍 (dark blue). Many youth in the blue camp I know don’t support unification. 

Q: How would you describe your personal politics, especially pertaining to progressive issues like feminism, gender politics, and LGBTQ+ rights? 

A: I think I’m pretty left-leaning, but in this day and age, I’ve found that I’m not really “left” on every single issue, especially on gender issues. In the past few years, we’ve seen a lot of extreme activism happening, especially surrounding LGBTQ narratives. The two camps are on very polar extremes, and for me, that is not necessary. And that’s why as a feminist activist, I would go for the path between them. I want to know what those against LGBTQ are thinking, and I want to embrace them as a whole. Meanwhile, I’m also part of the LGBTQ community, so I’m sort of finding my way in the blue camp as well, and with the feminist activism, I’m figuring out where I’m at. I’m not really sure, but it’s something in between them. 

For example, in Taiwan sex education is not done well. And in the anti-LGBTQ camp or in blue camp they never talk about gender education as a whole. So for me, to bring this kind of narrative into the blue camp – to make it something they can embrace – is very important, and that is something I want to do. 

Q: What is your stance on Taiwanese politics and Cross-Strait relations?

A lot of people ask me that. A friend of mine recently asked  “What is your stance on Cross-Strait relations? Do you want to stay as the ROC, or do you want to be unified in the future, or do you want to wait for China to reform?” 

I would say that in terms of geopolitical issues, Taiwan needs to find a way to get along with China, and that is where I stand. Of course, Taiwanese society should first take care of Taiwanese policies and systems, and then tackle our relationship with China. I will not really say that I support unification, but I’m waiting for China to reform. I would say that the ROC should still exist, because within the green camp or blue camp or even internationally, it’s such a consensus that Taiwan can exist because the ROC has its political and historical meaning. If you want to push for independence, you need to make sure that you’ll be fine, and it is very difficult for that to happen in, maybe, the next ten or twenty years. So for me, I would want to wait and maintain the status quo.

Q: Why did you join “Blue Youth”? 

First of all, of course it’s because of my personal stance on Cross-Strait relations. I would not say I’m pro-unification, but I know a lot of Chinese people and they are my friends; we get along really well, and we even talk about politics. I’ve found that conflict is not necessary. I joined the blue camp because I see there are changes happening within the party system, and this system is very crucial for Taiwan’s democracy. If the KMT can change into something Taiwanese people can trust, and shed its historical problems – it’s a 100 year old party, it has many different issues – if they can accomplish that, then they stand a really good chance to brighten Taiwan’s future. 

Q: What is your role in “Blue Youth”?

I work as an assistant researcher at the youth department of the KMT. I mainly work on gender issues, but a friend of mine in the department studies animal protection. Most of us in the department have our own specific research topics and roles, and we connect with NGOs because the KMT doesn’t really have NGO connections right now. It is sort of disliked by a lot of people, especially within the left, so we need to build connections with nonprofit organizations, and build all kinds of relations with different people. It’s very important to show that the KMT cares about different issues, issues that the KMT is traditionally perceived to ignore. Also, right now we want to do 議題倡議 (advocacy). We just want to show that we can do it very rationally. 

Q: As a feminist and an activist, how do you reconcile your personal beliefs with the more traditional values the KMT has grown to represent? 

I’ve found that actually the KMT can embrace different issues and we can do anything in the camp because the KMT has a diverse supporter base. It’s conservative in the sense that the majority of supporters are conservative, but not necessarily always. In some issues, they may be really progressive, but in some issues they are very conservative. To reconcile, I would want to find a middle-ground; I want to shift the narratives more to what they can accept. I don’t want to radically change what their life is like right now, to tell them what is right and what is wrong – for example, that feminism is always right. That’s not working; as we can see, since a few years ago, our society has become very polarised. So what I do is look at narratives more generally and try things that they can accept, and hope this narrative helps improve society.

Q: The KMT is electing a new Chairperson soon. Which direction would you like to see the KMT go, and which candidate do you think is the best choice for that direction?  

I don’t really have a specific candidate to support, but I do have a specific direction that I want the KMT to go: to embrace more values in different issues. Like in gender politics, in 居住正義 (housing justice) or in other issues. And right now these values are prominent within the youth department. I would think that only the youth department is doing it, and outside of it a lot of values are not embraced. The structure of the KMT is not really beneficial to young people, and I hope the structure can be reformed. 

Q: Polls show that younger voters (20 to 40 years old) overwhelmingly do not support the KMT. How should the KMT change that? 

I think the first thing is we need to find out why that is. My understanding is that first of all, the progressive values of the younger generation are not accepted in the KMT, but the older generations’ values are, and that is why the KMT still exists. But the issue is if the young people don’t support the KMT, then it can’t exist anymore. The problem right now is more like a generational gap. 

Everybody’s thinking about it – how can we do more? For now we do 議題倡議 (advocacy), we do everything we can to really logically think about policy, to propose issues with a lot of narratives that comes across as inclusive, rather than focusing on extremist narratives and 口號 (political slogans). The second thing is of course, the KMT needs to reflect on itself, on its 歷史包袱 (historical burden). How can we tell young people that China can change, or that we can still be friends with China as different countries? So the third thing is Cross-Strait relations – how can we tackle Cross-Strait relations as something that the young people can accept? But it’s very difficult to come up with something in recent years because of the international situation.

Q: Any closing remarks?

Politics in Taiwan right now are very polarising, so what we need to do is sit down and think about it. The first thing is to reiterate that hatred is unnecessary. The reason why I joined the blue camp is because we have a party system, and I can’t envision a party that could replace the KMT. If there’s one, where is it, and how can we develop it? The main issue is still the party system, and if this is what it is, we don’t need hatred towards the blue camp. The second thing is, in the blue camp right now, a lot of people are actually very sad about the circumstances of the KMT. I will not say I’m fully KMT – I flow between two ends of the political spectrum. On one issue I may be suitable for the KMT, and for another one I may be more suitable for a different party. Our main focus right now should be how the KMT can attract young people.