DPP should apologize
Alfred Tsai writes, "The DPP's critics have a duty to speak out, otherwise we will get another Hitler," only to go on to state, "It shocks me when Americans become dictators of what can be said in foreign countries ... " (Letters, July 18, page 8). What-ever accounts for his apparent self-contradiction, he should concede that no one -- Ameri-can or otherwise -- has sought to "dictate" to the government or people of Taiwan on this issue.
Tsai does make it clear -- by his reference to the [US'] First Amendment -- that he considers the matter to be one of freedom of speech. It is not. The people of Taiwan enjoy freedom of speech under Article 11 of the ROC Constitution and are equal before the law under Article 7. The DPP therefore has an absolute legal right to use footage of Hitler if it so chooses. But, by the same token, its critics have exactly the same right to condemn it for doing so.
The skinheads to whom Tsai refers are a blight on many, perhaps all Western democracies, not just the US. When they rear their ugly heads, they are roundly condemned by the majority of people. While they are sinister and frightening, they nevertheless represent only small minorities at the grassroots, though some, regrettably, occasionally make it to the fringes of real power.
The DPP has now withdrawn its ad effective tomorrow and that is to be welcomed. An apology and an admission that they made a grave error of judgment, however, would be even more welcome, instead of their persistent, ungracious, patronizing and downright inaccurate charges that they have simply been misunderstood by foreigners.
It may interest Tsai to know that I am not American, but the real insidiousness of the DPP's use of the Hitler footage lay in the fact that these people are not mere skinheads. They are not operating merely at the grass-roots. They are not on the mere fringes of political power. They are the democratically elected government, and one which has championed the cause of human rights, to boot. By virtue of that fact, and by using the footage to encourage people to "speak out," they lent a democratic legitimacy to Hitler to which he was emphatically not entitled. In so doing they not only insulted Hitler's victims, but they undermined the causes of democracy, racial equality and human rights worldwide.
Martin Lawson
Taipei
Bullies deserve a spanking
I found Vaclav Havel's article to be very insightful and possessing considerable clarity ("Russia discouraging NATO," July 17, page 9). I could easily change the word Russia in this article to PRC and republish it with the same vigor.
As a US citizen I am eager for my government to stop treating the PRC (and Russia) as though they have some great leverage. They are like the two bad kids that are mad because other kids will no longer play with them (because everyone refuses to let them be the boss) so they form their own club. As if anyone cares or listens to their new "Friendship Agreement."
They are like unruly children trying to grow up and telling the adults what to do. While corporal punishment does not always work with a child, certainly passively giving a child its way is even worse. The next time one of them throws a temper tantrum, perhaps a good spanking would be in order.
John Rieder
Ballwin, Missouri
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