A sarcastic Japanese poem reads, "residing by the clean Shirakawa river, I think of the muddy Tanuma period."
Two hundred years ago, there were two prime ministers in Japan's Edo Era: Okitsugu Tanuma (
The Tanuma government, therefore, stayed in power longer than the Matsudaira. Okitsugu Tanuma's image in history was negative, and Sadanobu Matsudaira was the one who earned people's love and respect.
As the poem says, the public preferred the muddiness of the Tanuma to Shirakawa's clean stream where Matsudaira was born.
This story has parallels to President-elect Chen Shui-bian's (
The Taiwanese have resented "black gold politics" (
The public would be happy to see "black gold politics" eliminated so that Taiwan might achieve more rapid development.
If only it can be as expected. The KMT ruled for almost 55 years, ultimately making people resentful of the serious "black gold" problem. However, do the Taiwanese people really hate "black gold politics?"
It will not be known until real reform has taken place. Chen was the one who was highly praised for reform against corruption, but he was also the one who lost a second-term as mayor of Taipei.
It was once rumored that corruption also exists in the DPP. Local governments in counties and cities have the function of distributing power within the public infrastructure. Therefore, it has been said, many DPP members long for power.
The DPP has ruled in the majority of cities and counties in Taiwan. The incoming government can call for "a clean and upright co-governance," yet it will definitely generate discontent if the end result fails to satisfy everyone within the DPP.
With which side will Chen reconcile; righteousness or corruption? Do the Taiwanese people really hope to live by the clean river? It needs further contemplation.
Takefumi Hayata is the publisher of Taiwan Report Weekly.
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