Germany, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry, Israel, and others, on Wednesday condemned a Taiwanese activist for wearing Nazi symbols during a public appearance in the Taipei metropolitan area.

What happened during the incident? 

Sung Chien-liang, who is affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party, also known as Kuomintang (KMT), showed up for an appearance at the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office where he had been summoned for questioning.    

Sung has spearheaded a campaign to recall lawmaker Lee Kuan-cheng, a member of the center-left ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Sung has been accused of signature fraud on the petition to recall the lawmaker. 

During his appearance in front of the prosecutor's office on Tuesday, Sung was seen wearing a Nazi armband and holding a Chinese translation of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf." He also did a Nazi salute during the public appearance.  

Sung was later released on bail. After leaving the prosecutor's office, he was no longer publicly displaying the Nazi paraphernalia. 

Germany calls Sung's Nazi display 'shameless'

The German Institute in Taipei, which serves as the German government's de facto representation in Taiwan, called Sung's behavior "shameless."  

"We condemn this act in the strongest possible terms and are grateful for the support we have received from Taiwanese society," the German Institute said, while noting that "millions of people were persecuted and murdered during the Nazi regime and the Holocaust is the most heinous crime in the history of mankind."

It's illegal to show off or display Nazi symbols or do the Nazi salute in Germany.  

The Taiwan Foreign Ministry also said it "strongly condemns this highly inappropriate mehod of expressing personal opinion," referring to Sung's actions.  

The ministry said that it "firmly rejects Nazi symbols, which represent an ideology of prejudice and hatred that led to the historic tragedy of the Holocaust."

Maya Yaron, the Representative of the Israeli Economic and Culture Office in Taipei, said the Nazi symbols displayed by Sung "represent hate, racism, and extreme violence."  

Opposition KMT says DPP is manipulating 'public opinion'

In its response, the opposition KMT said "it firmly opposes all forms of Nazism, facism & totalitarianism and reaffirms our commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law." The KMT said it opposes what it says is the DPP's "manipulation of public opinion & distortion of history."

The KMT and DPP are the two main political parties in Taiwan, with differing views on how the island should navigate its political relations.

The KMT ran Taiwan as a dictatorship for decades after it fled to the island in 1949 due to its loss in the Chinese Civil War against the Communists. The KMT generally supports closer relations with mainland China.

The DPP, meanwhile, was established in 1986, with current Taiwanese President William Lai being a member of the party. The DPP views Taiwan as already a sovereign country and advocates closer relations with the US and Japan.

Beijing considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory and has vowed to "reunite" the self-ruled island with the mainland, by using force if necessary. 

   

Edited by: Wesley Rahn 

This article has been updated to clarify the name of the Chinese Nationalist Party.