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Aug 18, 2008

Weekend Report

I spent the weekend listening to underground (green) radio here in Kaohsiung and let me tell you: the green supporters are pissed and panicked. A-bian's impropriety here has screwed over the DPP cause more than anything the blue camp has done in the last eight years.

This will kill enthusiasm for the 8-30 rally; it will drain blood from the DPP daily as the year-end County Commissioner and Mayoral elections approach; it will distract from what Ma does in office; and it has made a joke of the DPP's cause. Remember, the problem isn't just the corruption. Chen stole from his own supporters, many of whom made sacrifices to make donations to his campaign.

As Feiren pointed out in a chat:

The worst thing is that it confirms the Taiwanese belief in conspiracies and rampant corruption everywhere, and the attitude that I should just go get my stack first and fuck everyone else.
The whole Independence-oriented media, like Liberty Times and the underground radio, is calling for the same direction: disown Chen and continue to stand up for Taiwan's right to self-determination. All good in theory, but very difficult to execute at this point.

Now what? Frankly, I think the best we can do is wait and pray. Because we are royally screwed.

2 comments:

skiingkow said...

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I have always been one of the opinion that Taiwan was lost when the KMT was voted back into power in the legislature in 2004.

It made the Chen administration impotent politically, afterall. Major reforms were dead in the water at that time. Say what you want about Chen -- at least he was trying to create a freer and more independent Taiwan. As cynical as I am, this was not just lip-service.

This latest scandal / betrayal is simply icing on the cake.

Taiwan is now officially doomed, IMHO. And you're right. An already fickle short-sighted electorate is even more inclined to think short-term -- at the expense of freedom and democracy.

It is a tragedy of mammoth proportions.
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阿牛 said...

::sigh:: We really are screwed.