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Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Religion in the Service of Politics


We found these in our mailbox this week. The red poster has the traditional New Year's phrases and the name of the KMT politician who passed them out. More interesting is the pink sheet, which advertises a trip next month to visit temples in Hsinchu and Taipei, as well as the Shenkeng Old Street. With KTV on the bus too! The first six rows are $850, the next 6, just $750. But if you see who to contact, two of the numbers are local neighborhood captains, both KMT. The trip is a form of service/advertisement for the KMT. The KMT's tight links with local temples are an important factor in its ability to win votes at the local level, especially here in hotly contested Taichung.
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6 comments:

  1. OkamiFebruary 3, 2011 at 2:09 PM

    I was surprised to see a DPP councilor wearing his gang colors and uniform at the Mazu temple in Changhua, an area that normally represents KMT heavily.

    I wonder if this is a nice way around vote buying?

    ReplyDelete
  2. justrecentlyFebruary 3, 2011 at 5:40 PM

    Isn't this an over-sensitive reaction? German or Italian political parties with or without the word "christian" in their names organize pretty much the same kind of activities - church-related, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Michael TurtonFebruary 3, 2011 at 5:52 PM

    I didn't criticize it so much as point out how religion and politics function together in taiwan. It should also be noted that the Christian Dem parties in Europe do not have millions dead and 50 years of authoritarianism in their past, and they are not trying to sell out their nations.

    ReplyDelete
  4. FreemanFebruary 4, 2011 at 12:33 AM

    @Michael: They also don't have China threatening them with war, if they don't behave a certain way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousFebruary 5, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    "It should also be noted that the Christian Dem parties in Europe do not have millions dead and 50 years of authoritarianism in their past, and they are not trying to sell out their nations."

    MILLIONS dead? who ya smking dude? what millions dead? 228? CKS made modern Tawian possible and you should be grateful to have a well paying job here dude!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Michael TurtonFebruary 5, 2011 at 7:53 PM

    MILLIONS dead? who ya smking dude? what millions dead? 228? CKS made modern Tawian possible and you should be grateful to have a well paying job here dude!!

    I don't know what happened on your planet, but here on earth CKS and the KMT murdered millions in China.

    ReplyDelete

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