The Passionate Intensity of the KMT

Working in the onion fields outside Hengchun.

The other day the Central News Agency (CNA) reported that Chen Shui-bian gave $400,000 in subsidies to the Chinese dissident Wang Dan. Wang Dan has denied this today (see Taipei Times report). The story that reached my ears (which I can't verify) was that the CNA story was based on a "leak" from a single source (to multiple press organs which then give the appearance of independent corroboration) about what Wang Dan testified to in court (meaning the leaker breached Court confidentiality). Note that Wang Dan denied getting money from the Chen Administration in print and on his Facebook page, meaning that either the CNA report is wrong or Wang perjured himself in court. You can make the call yourself, but it seems to me that Wang is telling the truth.

Push away the smoke and take down the mirrors, and what we really have is an investigation-within-an-investigation -- it appears that Chen Shui-bian is being prosecuted because he beat the KMT twice in free elections. But beyond that it appears that at least one purpose of the investigation is to uncover the money flows and links between dissidents in China and the pro-democracy side in Taiwan. A side benefit is the bonus of discrediting Wang Dan for being a DPP tool.

Smells like a KMT trick?

The Open Letter to President Ma is being attacked using the same tactic. An editorial in the China Post claims the Open Letter is a ploy of Su Tseng-chang's. The editorial contains a hilarious misreading of the grammar of the letter, but beyond that, note the chosen tactic: it's all a DPP ploy. The writers were working with a Chinese language original, the editorial implies. Even funnier is the letter's choosing of Nat Bellocchi as the sinister head of this DPP plot: the China Post editorial (and KMTers commenting on the letter) appeared to have chosen Bellocchi because his name is first. And his name is first because....drumroll....the list of names is in alphabetical order.

The mind reels.

Other fun stuff? Yes, then there is the "DPP" "candidate" Hsu Hsin-liang. A former Chairman of the DPP, Hsu jumped ship in the late 1990s, and formed the Mountain Alliance with other DPP renegades Sisy Chen and Shih Ming-te. The Mountain Alliance follows the KMT line and ran against the DPP in elections. Hsu's position in the election primary is exactly the same as the KMT's. No doubt he'll run as an independent in the election, just to make trouble.

Sowing confusion and doubt in the DPP primary. Smells like a KMT trick?

Then there is Shih Ming-te, also a former Chairman of the DPP, who also switched sides in 1999 or 2000 and later acted as head of the pan-Blue-run faux Red Ant protests during the Chen Administration. After vanishing into obscurity for a while (and being sued by his followers for allegedly misappropriating funds), Shih re-appeared to blast the DPP's Su and Tsai the other day, voice his support for -- drumroll -- Hsu Hsin-liang, and ask Tsai Ing-wen to "clarify" her sexuality, essentially accusing her of being a closeted lesbian.

Lessee -- DPP turncoat Shih supports DPP Hsu turncoat advocating KMT positions in the DPP primary. No doubt it is all in good friendship.

The "lesbian" attack on Tsai may be seen against the backgrounds of similar attacks on President Ma for being gay in the 2008 election, attacks which did no credit to their promoters. Turnabout is fair play....

Yes, that passionate intensity of the KMT. It's really been on display this week.

ADDED: Klaus with a long and hugely informative post on Hsu Hsin-liang. And ROFL at Nick on the China Post's discovery of a new tense in English, the singular tense.
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