"...They imagine they are the wave of the future, but it's only sewage flowing downhill"I have to admit there is absolutely no joy in watching Shih Ming-te's public meltdown. It lacks even the fascination of peering at a wound that leaves the bone exposed -- it is more like watching a wounded animal die, caught in a trap, squirming and thrashing for hours, pain to no good purpose, leaving behind only a bloody circle of crushed vegetation, twisted metal, and memories that take time to fade....
Jerome Keating, off to the US for a break, noted today:
Pandora’s Box Award: This goes to Shih Ming-deh hands down. Right now, Shih Ming-deh is strangely silent on his past. It is not because he is in prison and can have no visitors. It is not because he is poor; (he now allegedly has NT$100 million dollars). It is not because he is in a dictatorship and the press is muzzled. No the press is free and is beating down his door.
Shih is silent because he must face the accountability of his own life; he is called to defend his personal past and cannot. Times have changed Shih! Reality bites. While your friends kept your secrets in the past, once you open the box, turnabout is fair play. For the naïve readers in the Western world, what is on the news is only the tip of the iceberg.
Yesterday Shih denied he had ever written a letter to Chiang Kai-shek begging for forgiveness and to be released; today his wife presented the media with the shirt he wrote it on, smuggled out of prison. Such things are should be left for the historians....
...but Pandora's Box is open, and many ugly things better left buried will come out...
The ongoing hu-ha (I've summarized some of it at Taiwan Matters) was addressed by the mainlander pro-democracy writer Lung Ying-tai, who has gone on record a couple of times now saying that Shih's street demonstrations are a bad idea, although she despises Chen (see her sad letter: Today's Lesson: Character). When large numbers of people gather, there is always the threat of violence (as Nietzsche once noted, madness is rare in individuals, but it is common in mobs), and Lung warned that not only is pressure from the mob inappropriate in a democracy, it also might lead to street violence. Lung did not point it out another possible violent outcome: as the standoff continues, and given the flow of death threats toward President Chen, it is quite likely that someone might get incensed enough at Chen's "stubbornness" to make another attempt on his life. Shih's demonstration is quite literally life-threatening. I hope sanity prevails, and he finds a way to call it off, donate the money to charity, and retire from the scene with such shreds of dignity as he can muster.
Taiwan, KMT, DPP, Shih Ming-deh/Shih Ming-te, Chen Shui-bian
11 comments:
The whole thing with the shirt is disgusting- not on Shih's side, but it's disgusting that people would actually look down on him for doing that. He was wrongfully imprsioned for God's sake- what does that do to a person, being deprived of their freedom for speaking their opinion? Some find themselves thinking of suicide. Some beg for freedom. The whole shirt ploy should be denounced.
I don't really agree with Shih's tactics, a lot political grandstanding... Shih's two former spouses may spill whatever they want about him. They certainly have the right to do so. But for DPP's legislators to appear with, encourage, and maybe solicit their attack is quiet shameful. They are no different than KMT's pathetic attack dog like Chiu Yi.
This should not be a contest to compare who is nastier, or which party is more corrupt.
Shih's letter to Chiang asking for forgiveness is a tragedy; this is most likely the result of severe physical and mental torture and cohesion in prison. One shouldn't use it against him. Many other saints in DPP had the similar experience, like DPP '96 presidential candidate Peng and VP Lu.
The threat of assassination against leader exists in most countries, it's always there, it can happen any time for any reason (Reagan '81). One shouldn't use it as logic against public demonstration.
Fear of street violence as an argument for against the demonstration is also red herring; it is commonly used by KMT against Pre-DDP demonstration in the 80s.
IMHO
"make another attempt on his life"
Huh???
There was never any attempt.
Only morons and people on the take keep saying that the assassin was for real....
Which one are you?
I'm not among the sadly deluded, piling evidence-free fantasy on evidence-free fantasy.
Michael
The threat of assassination against leader exists in most countries, it's always there, it can happen any time for any reason (Reagan '81). One shouldn't use it as logic against public demonstration.
Fear of street violence as an argument for against the demonstration is also red herring; it is commonly used by KMT against Pre-DDP demonstration in the 80s.
Well, I'm not saying that it should stop. But I am saying that Shih needs somehow to regularly reinforce the idea that things are supposed to be peaceful.
Michael
The whole thing with the shirt is disgusting- not on Shih's side, but it's disgusting that people would actually look down on him for doing that. He was wrongfully imprsioned for God's sake- what does that do to a person, being deprived of their freedom for speaking their opinion? Some find themselves thinking of suicide. Some beg for freedom. The whole shirt ploy should be denounced.
I agree completely. No one should be using that shit. Shih's current money shenanigans are enough.
Michael
Enough of this, I say. No one's really innocent in this hullabaloo yet I wish the government would not let pride get in the way of Shih's release. Attempt on Chen's life? We're getting paranoid, aren't we?
Attempt on Chen's life? We're getting paranoid, aren't we?
It has happened once already, and there is a regular flow of threats. What did Lien Chan say after the election? It's the psychological atmosphere that is scary.
Michael
What did Lien Chan say after the election? It's the psychological atmosphere that is scary.
And Ma Ying-Jeou kept pushing it further and further. They (pan-blue) just don't care how their supporters could possibly be inspired and encouraged by their violence-oriented words.
Now the violence did happen:
http://camtasia.us/film/boss20060824
Chen Shui-bian is a master of the cheap shot.
On p3 of TT yesterday: "Shih Ming-teh will not be put in jail for organizing the sit-in, nor does he need to write any letter asking for my forgiveness ."
Ouch!
Quite funny, but as President I don't think it's his place to be making cheap shots like that. Leave it to us bloggers!
Ouch!
Quite funny, but as President I don't think it's his place to be making cheap shots like that. Leave it to us bloggers!
LOL. That's what Shih gets for taking on a world class lawyer....
...yet, it also seriously shows that character of the government too. Things have changed a lot in Taiwan.
Michael
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