The German Institute in Taipei on Thursday posted to their Facebook page expressing “deep disappointment and concern” regarding KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) recent comments comparing President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to Adolf Hitler. Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺) and other government officials also condemned the use of Hitler in political analogies. 

Chu made the comparison in response to recent investigations into forged signatures for the recall vote of DPP Legislator Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城). He likened the investigation to the way fascist leaders Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini used the law as a pretext for eliminating the opposing party. 

In their statement, the German Institute in Taipei said such comparisons were disturbing and inappropriate. They emphasized that Taiwan’s democratic institutions have nothing in common with the tyrannical Nazi regime and that carelessly invoking Hitler’s dictatorship to describe dissimilar circumstances only trivializes his crimes. Deputy Foreign Minister Chen added that such analogies are insensitive, particularly considering Germany’s efforts to acknowledge and make amends for their actions during World War II.

The Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei also reacted, releasing a statement expressing their opposition to any rhetoric that downplays Nazi atrocities and disrespects the memory of the millions of Jews affected by the Holocaust.

Chu’s comments follow an incident last month when the legislator’s recall movement leader Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑) reported for questioning over the suspected fraud case wearing a Nazi armband; Chu defended Sung’s actions, saying he was merely satirizing the “authoritarian DPP.”