Taiwan's need for 'professionalism'

All occupations have their own professional problems of "an unprofessional nature." Society is thrown into complete disarray by arguments over the term "professionalism," and does not have the criteria to define it. Weeks ago, those who had opposed Lai Kuo-chou's (賴國洲) appointment as president of TTV (台視) laid stress on employment's hinging upon "professionalism," thereby implying that Lai was appointed simply because of his close ties to the KMT. But, those who had supported Lai's appointment denied charges of supporting "unprofessionalism," quite shrewdly, by saying that Lai had produced a couple of television programs, and should qualify for the post as a scholar specializing in media.

One's credentials and experience, all presented on paper, can hardly be treated as the sole yardstick for determining whether one is professional. They may turn out to be all the more dubious when one comes to grapple with such a pivotal policy as the continuation of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. When Taipower concludes its report on whether to continue the project with a so-called "professional comment" that the project is safe, why is the environmental protection groups' opposite conclusion not similarly described as "professional?"

In Taiwan, any policy that has finally boiled down to an either-or situation tends to prompt at least a hundred "professional" points of view. Therefore, let us all stop arguing, be honest, and try no more to put our own stances in brilliant disguise with the term "professionalism." Politics is politics.

Chen Jou-chin is a freelance column writer for The Journalist magazine.

Translated by Gatian Wang.