Kos Diary...

I went for a hike in the hills in the wake of the typhoon, which only brought a little rain our way. No critters to show for the walk, more's the pity. But I did diary at Kos today on the international media and the protests in Taiwan. Enjoy.

[Taiwan]

Protests in Taipei Go Off Peacefully

Taiwan News reports on the massive protest in Taipei yesterday:

The "Million Voices Against Corruption" campaign led by Shih began a week-long protest last Saturday and its leaders have vowed to continue until they achieve their goal.

The aim of the demonstration, said one protester yesterday, is to force Chen to "leave Taiwan alone" by relinquishing his presidency as soon as possible.

Despite the threat of rain and high winds from Typhoon Shan-Shan, an estimated 320,000 protestors turned out last night to march on a 5.5 kilometer route on the city's streets. Organizers put the crowd size at almost double the preliminary police estimate, saying the more that half a million people had taken to the streets in what was said to be one of the largest demonstrations the country has ever see.

Thankfully, the event seems to have gone on peacefully and the threats of violence did not materialize. The rally's one-sidedness was evidenced by its attendees:

Political heavyweights such as Taipei City mayoral candidate Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), Taichung City Major Jason Hu (胡志強) and Taipei County Magistrate Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) also joined the demonstration.

Not a prominent Green among them. As I've said before, if you are against corruption, what is Taiwan's biggest tax evader, James Soong, doing up there?

I ran into some of the protesters yesterday in Taichung. They were apparently waiting for buses, and had decorated a footbridge.

The meeting site appears to be an interesting statement on the real politics of the "protest" up in Taipei. The wall behind the protesters is the Confucius Temple in Taichung, which is also the Martyr's Shrine to the soldiers who died for the Republic of China fighting the Japanese -- in other words, the "non-partisan" protesters met at a KMT landmark.

Special: A good example of the way people in China think about democracy comes from the pro-China blogger ESWN's remarks posted the other day:

Permalink] Democracy Wins (09/16/2006) What is wrong with democracy (as in universal suffrage)? The most obvious flaw is that it rewards those who are able to win elections, but who are subsequently ill-suited and ill-equipped for their elected positions. Here is an egregious example from an election campaign (from Dalily Kos):

Of course, when it comes to picking people ill-suited for their positions, authoritarianism is far, far worse (see history books for Mao, Chiang, Hitler, Stalin, Franco, and their henchmen). Like many Chinese, ESWN grew up in a society that has no concept of civic culture and rule of law, and thus, when looking at democracy, he is essentially like a tone-deaf man trying to appreciate Mozart. Too many Chinese, especially in ESWN's generation, view democracy as a kind of distasteful anarchy. Sad. The pro-Blue protests against Chen up in Taipei are the ultimate evolution of the lack of civic culture: since the Blues cannot beat Chen at the ballot box, they refuse to work with him at all, or work for Taiwan. Democracy is more than just voting; it is the development of a civil society, the rule of law, and the recognition of good faith in others, and the extension of good faith to their actions. It also requires that losers accept their losses and move on. Thus, ESWN comments:

Is this the way to elect the best representative in the legislative branch of the nation? But how many of us have the time and energy to keep up with this nonsense, which is financed by gadzillions of special interest donations?

Yes, Roland, competitive elections are the way to elect the best representative for the legislature. Why? Because in democracy, the candidate elected is by definition the best. "Best" is a value for which there is no objective measure; there is no transcendent location outside our human conversation where we can find definition for the "best" representative. Democracy, in one sense, represents a search for that definition of "the best", and a negotiation process for declaring it. It appears that many in the Chinese culture sphere still don't get it.

[Taiwan]

Snake!

Taichung at dusk. Bought a scooter this week -- drive by shooting is easier than ever.

One of the joys of living where we live, next to a major forested hillside, is the constant presence of actual wild animals in our lives. We have a large gray snake of the harmless, vermin-eating variety who lives somewhere in our backyard. From time to time at night we see him. Squirrels frequent the trees in our area, and last year a taxi driver picking up my wife stopped, entranced, to watch a squirrel cavort along a wall in our neighborhood. He explained that he'd lived his whole life in Taichung, and had never seen a live squirrel.

Our visitor cowers in his hidey hole.

Today we arrived home after breakfast and a snake entered our lives. He curled up behind the files on my shelf. We peeled back the dusty manila folders with a long metal pole, and took a good look at him -- he had brown diamond markings on his back, exactly like a Russell's Pit Viper -- a very nasty snake indeed -- but seemed immature and the head was the wrong shape for a viper. I didn't think he was poisonous, but because he wasn't full grown, I didn't want to take any chances, so we called the firemen.

The fireman arrive.

In Taiwan it is the firemen who respond to any dangerous animals such as snakes or wasps -- stray dogs and cats are the province of Animal Control. They came immediately and took care of the problem politely, quickly, professionally, and best of all, safely. Our visitor turned out to be a copperhead ratsnake (elaphe radiata -- "jin3 she2" in Mandarin). They can grow up to two meters and though usually they dine on rats, they have been known to eat the young of goats and cattle (good pics of them). The local websites say the flesh is delicious.

The fireman had already bagged a banded krait, one of Taiwan's more dangerous snakes.

Off they went, their task complete.

Long after the fireman had come and gone, our klewless cat came downstairs. Hey guys! Guys! There's a snake here...!

I was very impressed with the quick response of the firemen, and my wife was relieved. It's a shame that being a fireman in Taiwan is not a job that is universally respected, like it is in the US. These guys deserve a hand from time to time. My wife meanwhile ran off to call the relatives. She doesn't have a story to top her mother's tale of the The Time I Thought The Snake Was a Loose Power Cord And Tried To Plug It In, but she's working on it.

UPDATE: After discussion with almas john over at www.forumosa.com, it appears our snake is a Taiwan Beauty.

[Taiwan] [snakes]

Violence and Red Guards in Taipei

Well, as I feared, the bad news keeps rolling out of the faux "people's protest" in Taipei. Taiwan News reports that gangs are already. hard at work among the crowd:

The CIB and the city's police authority have been extremely cautious in their plans for keeping the upcoming parade under control. Local media disclosed that members of most criminal rings in northern Taiwan have colluded to cause turmoil at the rally by attacking one of the official buildings the parade will pass by. As the parade will pass the buildings of many government agencies, including the Presidential Office, the reportedly planned attacks have shocked the community and brought considerable pressure on local law enforcement officials.

Kao said police have found that members of certain criminal rings are already taking part in the ongoing sit-in held by Shih and his comrades on Ketagalan Boulevard against Chen. "Some of them even play a role in maintaining the event's order," Kao said.

Yesterday there were reports of people wearing green being beaten, and a large number of people who have to pass through protest areas told media personnel they wear red to avoid violence against themselves. A China Times columnist said marchers should attack the Presidential building, and there were many calls for violent attacks on government buildings reported in the media. There were also threats that the Shih campaign protesters would lay siege to the train station and attack protesters coming in today for the pro-Chen protest. Shih meanwhile tried to separate himself from what he has launched:

In response to the alleged planned violence, Shih and his colleagues have already urged members participating in today's parade to remain peaceful throughout the march. But they have also made it clear that should there be any attacks initiated by people involved in the event, the organizers will not be responsible as the parade is separate from individual acts of violence.

Sure, Shih. He also said that Chen would "bear all responsibility" for any violence -- meaning that Shih expects it now. Meanwhile a 12 year old boy got up and read an anti-Chen poem to the crowd to loud cheers, causing many observers to remark on the affinity to Mao's Red Guard era.

The presence of gangsters is a strong signal that the protest is a partisan pro-Blue job, since the Taipei gangs are overwhelmingly pro-Blue. The Taiwan News and other Green media have pointed out that the protest is a partisan political hack job:

However, the most troubling question is whether Shih or the other leaders of the "Depose Chen" action genuinely have control over their own headquarters and whether the headquarters genuinely has the capability to maintain discipline and control among "Depose Chen" supporters.

Numerous incidents, including threats against reporters, recurrent attacks on passers-by, mob censorship in the so-called "Citizens Forum" and signs of the presence of gang members, give rise to serious concern.

Moreover, a revealing contrast was the hounding of a "Depose Chen" spokesman for using the term "Taiwan Country" on September 9 and the enthusiastic welcome given yesterday afternoon by Shih and the red-shirted crowd for an imitator of the late autocrat Chiang Ching-kuo who led the crowd in shouting slogans such as "Long Live the Republic of China!" and "Long Live the Chinese Nationalist Party!"

You'd have to be pretty naive to take seriously the "non-partisan" label for this made-for-media event.

I said earlier that violence might break out because it favors many different political agendas. Here's hoping Mayor Ma sets aside his partisan political stance and puts a stop to it. Ma could be one of the chief losers if the crowd is used as a cover for politically-motivated gangster violence. And Taiwan would be the biggest loser of all. Meanwhile, Shih, always shooting off his mouth, said in response to the DPP counter-demonstration today:

Responding to reports that the DPP has resolved to mobilize people to attend a Taiwan Society-initiated rally tomorrow at the same location where supporters of Shih's anti-corruption campaign have been gathering since last Saturday, Shih criticized DPP officials, saying only Nazis and Mussolini mobilize crowds.

[Taiwan]

Daily Links, Sept 13, 2006

Plenty of dirty laundry out there today. Believe it or not, there are other things happening besides the Shih protests:

Fili notes that China is peeved Israel showed support for the Beautiful Isle in the upcoming UN bid. Go Israel!

Taiwan pilots for Chinese planes?

A batty old lady drives Mark insane.

Wulingren finds connections between the ABC/Disney propaganda piece and things seen here on the Beautiful Isle. I like minds that make connections between the non-obvious...

Poagao writes on his experience of the anti-Chen campaign.

Naruwan Formosa is back and posting. We missed you, Bruce.

Hai Tien blogs on Chinese attempts to annex Korean history, and our rejected baseball team.

Special: Hat tip to the great Hong Kong blog Simon World for pointing me to this piece at the Jamestown Foundation on US-China military ties.

[Taiwan]

Ancient Ship not Found Yet

A China Post article points to an interesting possible discovery:

An undersea search led by an eminent French archaeologist yesterday turned up dozens of scraps of china and pottery in the harbor of Makung, capital of Penghu (the Pescadores), but did not find a ship that's believed to have sunk there a long time ago. Dr. Massy Jean-Luc was invited by the Republic of China's National Center for Research and Preservation of Cultural Properties to conduct an underwater exploration in the harbor of Makung, the site of a reported historical shipwreck.

Sadly, the article points up Taiwan's inability to protect its underwater resources:

A local expert said a search he and some archaeologists conducted last year in that place found some pots commonly used in the late Ming Dynasty. He suggested at that time that the authorities concerned act promptly to collect them.

The pots have disappeared, he said, pointing out that this is a loss to archaeological and cultural circles.

[Taiwan]

Washington Times Editor to Change?

Just so we're not all Shih, all the time, here, Jason at Wandering to Tamshui clued me in that the British Magazine Prospect is reporting that the Washington Times may be in for big changes...

The Republican right may be losing its most devoted media ally. The Washington Times editor-in-chief Wes Pruden and managing editor Fran Coombs, who have yanked the Reverend Moon-owned paper to the far right, are in trouble. Word is out that the leftist Nation is preparing an exposé on racism and sexism at the paper. The Times has published pieces by Coombs's wife Marian Kester quoting BNP chief Nick Griffin as an expert on Muslim culture. And Pruden is the son of the chaplain of the Citizens' Council in Little Rock, Arkansas, a segregationist group. When Eisenhower sent troops to protect nine black teenagers attempting to enrol at the local high school in 1957, the Reverend Pruden told the mob, "That's what we gotta fight: niggers, communists and cops." The Moonies, who have spent over $1.1bn on the loss-making Times in the 25 years they have owned it, have been fretting about the newspaper's attacks on the UN (which they like) and on North Korea, where the South Korea-based Moonies have big investments. They have now quietly set up a search committee to seek replacements. A strong contender is said to be Maggie Thatcher's former aide John O'Sullivan.

As a good liberal, I can't stand the WashTimes, but this may prove to be a problem for Taiwan, as the Washington Times has been one Taiwan's most reliable media supporters.

[Taiwan] (excerpted from a post at Taiwan Matters!)

Jane Rickards at WaPo on anti-Chen protests

Jane Rickards had a slanted article in the Washington Post today. Jason at Wandering to Tamshui has the call:

Sadly, this article is one of many cookie-cutter pieces designed to “fit” a narrative that editors seem to have already written: the “Mad Chen”, frustrated by his inability to plunge Taiwan into a war of independence with China, turns to corruption with the help of his Lady MacBeth while the rest of the country suffers in silence. Meanwhile, the selfless freedom fighter Shih returns from the political wilderness to valiantly fight on against his now-fallen student for the good of the Republic. Shit, if this story ends with Chen wearing a menacing black suit and helmet, I’m going to demand my money back.

Let’s keep the cart behind the Horse and wait for the prosecutor's findings and follow the law if the president is found guilty of wrongdoing. And for God’s sake let’s stop pretending that this “Depose Chen” business is just a non-partisan grassroots call for clean government, because it’s not. The presence of Taiwan’s biggest convicted tax-evader at the weekend’s rally is proof enough of that.

Jason is referring to the crazed central paragraph of the article:

The months-old allegations that his wife, other relatives and key aides exploited their positions for illegal financial gain have weakened his leadership. The situation has raised questions about whether Chen will have the confidence to push for formal independence for the self-ruled island of 23 million, a move China has threatened to oppose with military force.

"...whether Chen will have the confidence to push for formal independence for the self-ruled island...." For crying out loud! Does anyone really think that Chen will be able to push through independence when...

he has promised not to

he is a lame duck president

the legislature is controlled by the Blues who oppose independence

the public which opposes a change in the status quo has to vote for it in a referendum

the US would be against it

China would have to attack

As Jason says, this is not about reporting news, but selling a pre-packaged narrative of Mad Chen the Insane Independence Monger. Watch out! He'll do anything! He's so crazy, he could convince a pro-Blue legislature to vote for independence!

Perhaps the strong slant of this article has something to do with the fact that Rickards is a reporter for the China Post, the local pro-KMT English newspaper. It's sad, because she is usually a voice of reason on that paper. It is also sad that the Washington Post did not indicate the newspaper's allegiance in its article, so that readers would know.

[Taiwan] [Taipei] [Shih Ming-deh/Shih Ming-te] [James Soong] [Chen Shui-bian] [Democracy] [DPP] [Washington Post]

Lung Ying-tai in the Online Daily Yomiuri

Mainlander democracy writer Lung Ying-tai is discussed in a rambling article in the online edition of the Daily Yomiuri:

Lung is a descendant of people who moved to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland together with the Nationalist Party when it lost a civil war against the communists. She has been critical of the pro-independence stance of the administrations of former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui and current President Chen Shui-bian.

Lung, too, criticized the ban on the magazine, saying it was similar to killing freedom of speech. While saying she has an affinity for mainland China, Lung wrote she had learned to respect people's lives and the importance of maintaining a sense of humanity.

Her essay went on to say that if her feeling toward China and her sense of values clash, she chooses her own sense of values without hesitation.

She wrote that though she loves mainland China as her home country, Taiwan cannot be unified with China unless the two share the same values.

Attempting to stop Taiwan's drive toward independence, Beijing has deepened economic ties with the island, invited Lien Chan and other opposition leaders from Taiwan, and even proposed giving Taiwan a pair of pandas.

But Lung wrote that pandas are not important, and the key issue is whether Beijing can share democratic values found in Taiwan.

[Taiwan]

The Politics of Fifth Grade and the Politics of Taiwan

The tragedy of this situation lies in the fact that the parents undoubtedly had the best of intentions; from the very beginning, they wanted their children to be good, responsive, well-behaved, agreeable, undemanding, considerate, unselfish, self-controlled, grateful, neither willful nor headstrong, nor defiant, and above all meek. They wanted to inculcate these values in their children by whatever means, and if there was no other way, they were even ready to use force to obtain these admirable pedogogical ends. -- Alice Miller, For Your Own Good

Last week, my daughter's school opened with two new teachers, both in fifth grade, and the Kicking Incident. I finally got the details straightened out…

What actually happened was that my daughter's teacher had gone into the classroom of another teacher, and scolded a student there, GH. Meanwhile another student, CC, had gone home and reported to his parents that the teacher from the other classroom had kicked GH for tormenting another student, CL, last year.

CL is a female, slow of mind, and thus a ripe target for abuse. Because she was my daughter's friend, the other students had ostracized my daughter, giving her the stark choice of abandoning CL or not having any friends. My daughter, who has the full complement of stubborn Polack genes that run in our family, chose the latter. So last year was hell for her, and she was looking forward to being in a class full of students who liked her and were willing to interact with her.

Meanwhile, CC's father, the Braggart, swung into action. You know the Braggart. He drives expensive, flashy vehicles that come in bright colors, the kind a real aficionado mentally labels "pussy." His voluminous waistbag is packed with the latest in photography equipment and two SLR cameras are always draped about his neck. He has a gregarious smile that could swallow Atlantis, and his personal relations are colored by a hearty bonhomie that lets you know he thinks you're the dumb one. He has an opinion on every topic, and interferes in every school activity. It's a universal rule that all Braggarts are oversize men with petite wives, and ours is no exception. Naturally he claims to be a reporter for a certain popular local tabloid, and that is how he gets leverage over the school. If he doesn't get access, he threatens to write a nasty article about the school and its administration.

CC's father ran into the school office and demanded that my daughter's teacher be punished, and sat there in the office while my daughter's teacher was brought in to account for his behavior. It wasn't his kid or his business; he had no right to be there, but the school let him sit by while the teacher explained that he had accidently bumped into the boy as he was scolding him.

At the same time, CC's mother met my wife coming into school, and remonstrated with her. "Why did you tell the new teacher about the problems with CL? That was a very bad thing to do!" My wife was flabbergasted, for she had done no such thing, and so what if she had?

Immediately a furious wave of phone calls broke over our little community. Most of the adults here haven't moved away; they all went to the local primary school together and have known each other forty years. Old alliance networks instantly revived. Who had told the teacher about the way the kids had tortured CL? Of course, it was CL's mother, who had mentioned it in the parent-teacher meeting at the beginning of the semester. As she should have….

This brought down the wrath of the community. One of the mothers said that CL's mom should "let them start at zero." She had been wrong to bring up that stuff that happened last year. Everyone was angry at her. My wife got the usual backhanded insulting apologies from those who made the false accusations: "We're sorry. We thought you had told the principal, since you always report to him." As if!

The ethics of this little affair are quite illuminating. The parents wanted their kids to start at zero with the teacher, but none of them noticed that the kids wouldn't be starting at zero with each other. The hurt in the hearts of CL and my daughter wasn't going to be washed away. Nobody offered either CL or my daughter or her mother or my wife apologies for the appalling behavior of their children, promises that the kids would be dealt with, and assurances that it would not happen again. Indeed, none of them appeared to think that their children had done anything wrong, for none of them even raised the issue of their children's behavior as such. The wrong thing had been done by CL's mother – on that score there was universal agreement, marred only by my wife's dissent. Nothing could better illustrate the paradox at the heart of Chinese child rearing: while children are often hit, they are less often punished.

Why do politicians like Hsu Hsin-liang, Shih Ming-te, Cheng Li-wen, or Sisy Chen switch from the independence side to the pro-annexation side, lacking even the slightest recognition of ethical principles? I suspect at least part of the answer lies back in their childhoods....

[Taiwan]

AFP: Reduced turnout on second day....

Agence France Press has an interesting article out today on the made-for-media event taking place in Taipei.

Around 3,000 demonstrators braved the cold and rain overnight in the Taiwanese capital, some of them sleeping rough on the streets, as they sought to maintain pressure on Chen, who has been dogged by allegations of corruption.

But, as the rain continued through Sunday, few more people appeared and there were signs that the campaign might be losing momentum after a first day when tens of thousands took to the streets.

Campaign leader Shih Ming-teh issued a rallying call to his supporters, huddled outside the presidential office in raincoats, urging them to turn out in their droves and not to let up despite the weather.

"There could be more rain today and tomorrow. But here I want to implore you not to be absent from this historic moment. I hope you can bring your friends and family here," Shih told reporters.

Reduced numbers were inevitable, given the proposed duration of the "protest" and the fact that it is highly unlikely to be successful. Organizers blamed the rain for the pathetic turnout, but they also revealed something very interesting:

Campaign spokesman Emile Sheng laughed off Huang's remarks, saying the numbers were impressive especially given the fact that no buses had been laid on to bring people in as had often been the case in the past.

"The day one number may not be as high as we had previously forecast, but if the fact that not a single bus has been mobilized is taken into consideration, the public's response was as strong as we had predicted. Our supporters are spontaneous," he said.

Can a Blue protest be sustained if the protesters don't get paid and transportation isn't provided? Apparently not. If numbers continue to dwindle, what stunt will Shih think of next? Today someone shouted at him that he ought to call a general strike, and he replied that it was not impossible. I can just imagine what that will look like to all the local bosses.....

BOSS: You want to do what?
WORKER: (earnestly) I'd like to go out on strike. To protest A-Bian.(thinking) Great! A day off! I'll just go home and play mah-jong with Second Auntie.
BOSS: (thinking) Great! A day off! He'll just go home and play mah-jong with Second Auntie. Protest A-Bian on your own time!

Meanwhile the AFP report also noted:

Organizers of the anti-Chen campaign put Saturday's attendance at around 200,000, though police reportedly estimated the turnout at 90,000. Shih had said in the run-up to the protest that he hoped 300,000 would turn out.

Estimates as low as 80,000 for Saturday are now being booted about. It's pretty clear that Saturday's protest numbers were nowhere near the turnout claimed by organizers. Ugly rumors abound -- the papers here have suggested that Shih might commit suicide at the end of the campaign, also a hot topic of conversation among locals.

The writer of that report should be commended for calling it the "anti-Chen" campaign, and not the anti-corruption campaign, as the Blue papers are calling it. Apple Daily, supposedly non-partisan, also referred to it as an "anti-corruption wave" in its headline on the first day of the protest.

All I can say is that I sincerely hope Shih winds it up quickly and -- alive.

Don't miss: Oiwan has translations of blogposts from Taiwan. Thanks for the link to me, Oiwan

[Taiwan] [Taipei] [Shih Ming-deh/Shih Ming-te] [James Soong] [Chen Shui-bian] [Democracy] [DPP] [Emile Sheng]

China Post Reviews Jade Phoenix

My friend Syd Goldsmith's new book Jade Phoenix was reviewed in the English-language China Post. And for a special bonus, they quoted my review of the book:

Goldsmith was director of the American Institute in Taiwan's Kaohsiung branch office, the unofficial equivalent of a consulate general, from 1985 until 1989, when he settled in Taipei. Now in his mid-60s, he first came to Taiwan in 1968 and was a political officer at the American embassy in Taipei from 1970 to 1974. Fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Cantonese, as well as several other languages, Goldsmith grew up in New Jersey and attended Columbia University. He lives in Taipei with his Taiwanese wife and their two children.

A reviewer in Taiwan noted on his blog that "the great strength of Goldsmith's story lies in its rich depiction of the realities [since] Goldsmith knows many of the historical persons who appear as characters in the book, both real and fictionalized, [and he] is able to leverage his vast knowledge of the island to produce a book that is not only historically informed but also culturally accurate."

In addition, a reviewer on Amazon.com called the book a riveting read, writing, "This is one of those novels that you had better not pick up unless the kids are fed and you don't mind staying up all night."

Goldsmith said that "Jade Phoenix" is now available in bookstores islandwide or directly from the publisher's Web site.

[Taiwan]

Yahoo, AFP on Demonstration

Yahoo's report is the AP report by Stephan Grauwels:

The color of their clothes symbolizing anger, the protesters shouted slogans and gave the "thumbs down" gesture, emblematic of their feeling that Chen should resign to restore the dignity of the self-governing island of 23 million people.

Police estimated 90,000 people jammed a broad boulevard adjacent to the ornate Presidential Office Building in Taipei, though protest organizers claimed they reached their target of 200,000.

But unfortunately the article is a litany of the accusations against Chen and says nothing about the nature of Shih's campaign, who Shih is, or who his allies are. Grauwels has been reporting on Taiwan for some time -- it is a shame he didn't leverage that knowledge in his writing. Similarly, the context is also gone from the Agence France Press report. Grauwels did mention that the protesters were largely pro-Blues:

Many protesters appeared to be supporters of the opposition Nationalist Party, though there were also some disappointed followers of Chen's Democratic Progressive Party.

"I want him to go," said Ted Lai, 45, a Taipei salesman who supported Chen in the past. "He has been corrupt and he has done many things wrong."

The only quote, alas, came from the anti-Chen side. Grauwels did report on another one of Shih's comic bits of bombast:

Protest leader Shih Ming-teh said Taiwan would be paralyzed if Chen served out his term, which ends in May 2008.

Although the term that Shih used was not "paralyzed" but zhi wu ren, a vegetable (in the brain-dead sense). UPDATE: (Feiren corrects me below in the comments)

Ah well, I suppose it would be too much to ask for the foreign media to report on this in some depth....

[Taiwan] [Taipei] [Shih Ming-deh/Shih Ming-te] [James Soong] [Chen Shui-bian] [Democracy] [DPP]

Wandering to Tamshui on Shih Protest

Priceless remarks from Drew at WTT reviewing the protest yesterday:

4) James Soong sat down for a while next to "The King of Pirates" Shih [Soong once famously called Shih this after the 1979 crackdown on pro-democracy leaders -- j.] . Yaaar!. They must have had a lot of catching up to do. Shih: "Yeah, I remember when you sent me to prison, but now that I'm indebted to you and your cronies for digging me out of my financial problems, to the point where I no longer have to sell my likeness to hawk kareoke machines, I'll pose with you." Soong: "Croak! Viola says thanks for the fruit basket... croak!"

Go read the rest.

[Taiwan] [Taipei] [Shih Ming-deh/Shih Ming-te] [James Soong] [Chen Shui-bian] [Democracy] [DPP]

BBC on Anti-Chen Campaign

Yesterday the Shih campaign held a press conference for the international media, and today the first fruits showed up in the form of a lightweight BBC article on the affair. BBC's reporter simply accepted at face value everything the Shih team said and did not do the slightest research on the topic or their claims. Consider the especially odious center of the article:

Yet organisers of the latest campaign - "A Million Voices Against Corruption - Chen Must Go" - have been trying to keep their distance from the mainstream political parties, saying that offers of help from legislators have been turned down.

"We don't want any partisan support. We try to keep this as pure as possible, as a movement of the people," said Emile Sheng, professor of politics at Soochow University, who has joined the protest camp as a media spokesman.

"For me, this is a social movement to rebuild the moral standards of Taiwan politics," he said. "Moral standards are not something Taiwan politicians really care about.

"I think by putting people's attention on anti-corruption, it's going to send a message directly not only to the president, but also to every politician in the future in Taiwan. To let them know that we as a people really care about moral standards and want politics to be conducted in a civil way."

It's pathetic that the journalist didn't bother to do even the slightest bit of background research into these claims. I've commented here on the partisanship of the campaign innumerable times, but the truth is always worth repeating. But here, a pic from the Liberty Times is worth more than a thousand words:

Here is Shih Ming-te flanked by Blue leaders KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou on his left, and PFP Chairman James Soong on his right. Non-partisan? There's Shih seated with two pro-Blue leaders. Shih himself has been cooperating with the Blues for the last five or six years. Anti-corruption? Soong was just convicted in a tax evasion case, and was fingered in French magazine as the bagman for a $400 million payoff. Morality? Sitting there with two willing servants of the authoritarian regime?

This whole thing is a drama of pro-Blue political hackery. I have this dream that some day the media services are going to send people here who both know the island and are willing to dig. I can name two dozen bloggers who could come up with a better piece than that.

UPDATE: Quite a lot of us have complained about the BBC article, both local expats and locals. Maddog discusses his response here. Meanwhile, as of Tuesday the 12th, there are still no comments up.

[Taiwan] [BBC] [Taipei] [Shih Ming-deh/Shih Ming-te] [James Soong] [Chen Shui-bian] [Democracy] [DPP] [Emile Sheng]