The interesting thing about the green card issue is how deep and visceral it is for Taiwanese now, unlike during the election in 2008 when Frank Hsieh first launched that claim. I've been hearing remarks on it all week, from one-liners ("Oh, you're a US citizen? Just like our president!") to treatises. It's not normal to hear unprompted political remarks, especially from strangers, and yet I have. It is obvious that the green card issue taps a deep vein of anger. A restaurant owner defined it today as we chatted in Hualien, saying that it is so wrong that Ma can make a mess of Taiwan and then simply run off to the US, leaving everyone here holding the bag.... ordinary people deeply resent the fact that Taiwan's rulers have a bolt-hole while they must suffer, and Ma's alleged green card symbolizes that.
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