Use of Nazi symbols in Taiwan

While there is no notable neo-Nazi movement in Taiwan, the use of Nazi symbolism and imagery in the country has been observed throughout the years, often causing controversy. Those occasions involve a Nazi themed parade at a school, restaurants serving dishes honouring Nazis or displaying Nazi-related pictures and other decor, which led to public outcries.

Timeline of notable incidents

1999

In 1999 an advertisement for electric heaters made in Germany featured a smiling cartoon version of Adolf Hitler doing the Nazi salute. The slogan on the ad read “對寒流宣戰!” (duì hánliú xuānzhàn), which means “Declare war on the cold front!”.

2000

A concentration camp-themed diner called “Jail” opened in Taipei, Taiwan. Besides a mural depicting death camp victims behind barbed wires, the decoration also featured various smaller photos of internees and other items such as shackles and mug shots, intended to give the visitors a sense of eating in a jail. The restrooms were named gas chambers. The restaurant's owner issued an apology stating that Taiwanese people were not as aware of the historical context, and therefore not as sensitive about it.

2001

The Democratic Progressive Party has published a campaign advertisement “嗆聲新世代” qiāngshēng xīn shìdài(Choke the new generation), featuring an image of Adolf Hitler. They claim the characters chosen for this campaign dare people to speak their minds, hoping to achieve a higher involvement of young people in politics. Several days after the release of the commercial and extensive criticism from various sources, it was taken down. Before the posters were taken down, a disclaimer was added next to Hitler’s image "獨裁造成災難” which translates to “dictatorship causes disaster”.

2004

The Kuomintang used a photo of Adolf Hitler in an election campaign advertisement in the newspaper to compare the then president Chen Shui-bian, to the German dictator. According to the commercial, President Chen shared some character traits with Hitler and was trying to oppress political opponents just like a dictator would.

2005

National Socialism Association (NSA) was founded by university graduates. They were inspired by the Nazis’ view on immigration and their strong military. The NSA claims that they are neither racist, nor anti-semitic as well as denying honouring Hitler.

2011

During the "Iron Armour Combat Camp" in 2011, a photo of three students wearing Nazi uniforms was posted on the official website of the Ministry of National Defence. This incident ultimately led to an official apology to the Israeli representatives in Taiwan.

2013

In an anti-gay parade, a person dressed as a Nazi was waving a sign saying “Nazis were anti-gay, I am anti-gay”. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed that Taiwan is a democratic country and one person's actions don’t represent the government's standpoint.

2014

A public display of aircraft and weapons was held at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base (Taichung International Airport), during which some vendors were wearing swastika armbands without any authorizations from the officials.

An Italian restaurant in New Taipei City put Nazi Wansui (Roughly translated into “Long Live the Nazis”) Noodles and Pizza onto their menu. In an apology, the owner of the restaurant explained that they chose the name in order to emphasise the origin of the dishes main ingredient; German sausage. The restaurant apologised and changed the dishes’ name.

2016

For the anniversary of Hsinchu Kuang-Fu Senior High School, a homeroom class held a Nazi-themed parade. The students and their teacher were dressed in Nazi uniform, waving Nazi flags. The German and Israeli representatives reacted with shock and horror. The students were in most parts not blamed, but the teacher and the government were.

2018

A highschool in Xinzhu has accidentally installed the Nazi-appropriated swastika in their school pond instead of the intended Buddhist symbol. As a temporary fix, they have put plants over the swastika. The religious community has been trying to reappropriate the swastika, supposed to be a peace symbol, which has been corrupted by Hitler.

In another incident a hair salon had their shop sign designed as razor blades arranged in a swastika shape. The owner got reported several times but stated that he couldn’t afford to change it.

2023

A man was seen waving a Nazi flag in front of a European school in Taipei. Israeli and the European Union institutions reacted with concern and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement telling the population to respect others’ feelings.

Reactions

Nazi incidents in Taiwan are usually considered the consequences of a lack of knowledge and ignorance on the subject, according to researchers. On the Index of Ignorance, Taiwan is deemed the third most-ignorant country. On different social media sites, it has since been discussed whether or not Taiwanese students should be expected to have the same sensibility for The Holocaust and Hitler’s actions as German and Israeli students. Some users have expressed their lack of understanding for the harsh criticism of students from the 2016 Xinzhu School Parade. There seems to be no particular form of hate against the Jewish community, which led to those events. In response to those events and the backlash that ensued, the Taiwanese government is trying to educate the population. In 2018, a Holocaust memorial was held in Taipei in hopes to raise awareness.

After the high school parade incident, President Tsai Ing-wen delivered a speech that stated that “Adults, not students” were responsible. She also acknowledged that “it was the result of the nation’s “superficial” human rights education and failure to teach young people about state repression of rights in the past.”

In May 2023, the international news television network France 24 focused one of their “Truth or Fake” episodes on the pictures posted online of Taiwanese people using Nazi symbolism. Both Germany’s and Israel’s envoys in Taiwan have spoken out after multiple events, calling the use of Nazi symbolism disrespectful against Jewish people, but also saying it displayed Taiwan’s ignorance of history.

See also

• Nazi chic
• History of the Jews in Taiwan