Academic slams KMT official for misrepresenting Economist article

A prominent Taiwanese academic has sharply criticized a Kuomintang (KMT) official for what he describes as a deliberate misrepresentation of an article published by The Economist. Shen Rong-chin, an associate professor at York University, accused KMT Culture and Communications Committee Chairman Chen Yi-hsin of "calling white a deer" after Chen cited The Economist's article, titled 'Taking Taiwan’s democracy hostage,' to criticize President Lai Ching-te.

Chen had initially claimed the article supported his view that Lai's government was holding Taiwan's democracy hostage. However, the article's author, David Rennie, later clarified that his piece actually criticized the Taiwanese opposition, led by the KMT, for holding the island's democracy hostage. Despite Rennie's clarification, Chen reportedly attempted to defend his initial interpretation by focusing on the timing of Rennie's social media posts.

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Chen Yi-hsin seems to genuinely not understand The Economist and is talking nonsense, not even understanding the author's post. Coupled with his confused Ah Q-style time logic, it truly makes one wonder how he studied in the UK back then.

Shen Rong-chin expressed disbelief at Chen's response, questioning how Chen, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of London, could misunderstand an article from a publication he likely read during his studies. Shen stated that Chen's argument, which relies on a "confused Ah Q-style" logic regarding the timeline of posts, is nonsensical. He added that Chen's behavior is far worse than that of the ancient eunuch Zhao Gao, who famously tried to pass off a deer as a horse to deceive the emperor.

Shen suggested that Chen should have simply apologized for his misinterpretation or remained silent. He acknowledged that Chen, as a KMT official, might feel pressure to "put makeup on the party," but found his performance in this instance to be surprisingly poor. Shen concluded that Chen's insistence on arguing and demanding apologies, rather than admitting his mistake, is astonishing.

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Calling white a deer.