Sino-Singapore Commentary: Ma Ying-jeou leads Taiwanese green ginseng to worship the Yellow Emperor to strengthen his roots and prosperous branches

　　China News Service, Beijing, April 4th: Ma Ying-jeou leads Taiwanese youth to worship ginseng to honor the Yellow Emperor.

　　China News Service reporter Wen Longjie

　　After a year, Ma Ying-jeou, the former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, once again led Taiwanese youth to the mainland to seek roots and exchanges. On the 4th, he participated in the "Jiachen (2024) Qingming Memorial Ceremony for Xuanyuan Huangdi" in Huangling County, Shaanxi Province. This was also the occasion for Ma Ying-jeou and his delegation. One of the "highlights" of the trip. "There are five classics in ritual, and nothing should be more important than sacrifice." Xuanyuan Huangdi is the first humanistic ancestor of the Chinese nation. Ma Ying-jeou's participation in offering sacrifices to "the first mausoleum in the world" can reveal three meanings.

　　First, think about the source. It is the tradition of the Chinese nation to be cautious about pursuing the future and remember the source when drinking water. When Ma Ying-jeou visited the mainland for the first time in 2023, he said, "The tradition of the Chinese people is to never forget their ancestors and always remember where you came from." After participating in the ceremony to commemorate the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, he said in his speech that this time he personally commemorated the Yellow Emperor. It expresses the importance that Taiwanese people attach to traditional Chinese culture in respecting their ancestors.

　　The public memorial ceremony for the Yellow Emperor during the Qingming Festival is an important emotional link connecting the Chinese people at home and abroad. From the "Taiwan Liberation Tribute Group" to Yaoxian County, Shaanxi Province in 1946, to Lien Chan, Soong Chuyu, Wu Boxiong, Hong Xiuzhu, Yu Muming, Jiang Xiaoyan and others leading the delegation to pay tribute, all Yanhuang people My descendants will all remember you here. Ma Ying-jeou has paid homage to the Yellow Emperor from afar in Taiwan six times, and now he has paid homage in person. He paid homage to the Xuanyuan Hall, paid homage to the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum, and planted Qiaoshan cypresses. In "searching for his roots," he felt even more proud and confident as a descendant of the Yan and Huang emperors. In stark contrast, in 2017, the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party announced the cancellation of Taiwan's Qingming Festival ceremony to honor the Yellow Emperor, triggering strong dissatisfaction from all walks of life in Taiwan.

　　Second, open source. Since the beginning of this year, Taiwan's political situation has changed and people's concerns have intensified. Peace, development, exchanges, and cooperation have become the common aspirations of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Ma Ying-jeou is leading Taiwanese young people to visit the mainland at this time, opening up new sources of exchanges and forging new friendships across the Taiwan Strait. It is what people want to open up channels and spaces for dialogue in tense situations.

　　The mainland also responded positively, expressing the hope that Mr. Ma Ying-jeou will lead a delegation to visit to promote cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation in various fields, including cross-Strait youth exchanges, enhance mutual understanding and spiritual harmony, promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, benefit compatriots on both sides of the Strait, and jointly promote national rejuvenation.

　　This year, Ma Ying-jeou mentioned "peace across the Taiwan Strait, win-win and common prosperity", and "open source" is undoubtedly the meaning of his title. Judging from the positive impact Ma Ying-jeou led on Taiwanese youth's visit to the mainland last year on cross-Strait relations, this year will undoubtedly continue to have a positive impact in deepening Taiwanese youth's understanding of the mainland and allowing the mainland people to see the vitality of Taiwan's youth.

　　Third, the source. In recent years, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities have vigorously promoted "de-Sinicization" of history education in order to achieve political goals, hoping to cut off Taiwan's young people's historical memory of the Chinese nation and their identification with Chinese civilization. Many insightful people in Taiwan have criticized this, believing that the descendants of Yan and Huang will never sit back and watch the history and roots of the Chinese nation be strangled by political means. Ma Ying-jeou led young people in Taiwan to participate in the memorial service to the Yellow Emperor, which has the effect of "writing history personally" and using practical actions to rectify the source of Taiwan's Chinese historical narrative and the identity of Chinese civilization.

　　It is in this sense that Ma Ying-jeou pointed out on the same day that it "feels of great significance" to be able to take young people from Taiwan to Shaanxi to worship the Yellow Emperor in person today. He hoped that the Taiwanese youth accompanying him "will take this rare opportunity to remember the roots of Chinese culture and the Chinese nation, as well as the pride of being descendants of Yan and Huang."

　　Thinking about the origin of the descendants of Yan and Huang, the new source of cross-strait exchanges, and the source of Chinese culture, Ma Ying-jeou participated in the ceremony to worship the Yellow Emperor this time, "doing everything to oneself internally, and obeying the Tao externally." (over)