The heated by-election in Hualien Couty has finally come to an end and the winner has been decided. As the street scenes get back to normal, it's hard to trace the battle scene where the three candidates fought and shouted their hearts out. However, scars have already been left on the minds of county residents during the election, which carried more weight than it should have. The invisible trauma now needs to be healed, and the hurt feelings need to be amended.
As we have witnessed, the scope of the Hualien County commissioner by-election was larger than a local election. It in fact can be viewed as a forerunner battle for the presidential election. The picture of the by-election was completely distorted by politicians coming from Taipei. Cornered on the stage during the campaign, candidates looked more like supporting characters, while the political heavyweights grabbed the spotlight. The political force and competition involved in the combat was by no means ordinary.
Simple-minded Hualien people were put in the line of fire without any preparation, experiencing first-hand the raging battle. All of a sudden, the harmonious coexistence of local communities was disturbed. Respect and courtesy with which people used to treat each other in Hualien disappeared as suspicion, accusations and struggles were on the rise during the election. The way that different social and ethnic groups used to keep their balance in the idyllic east-coast county was severely impacted in the election.
The election juggernaut -- the malicious mud-slinging politics -- blatantly trampled into the electoral-culture landscape of Hualien. Like venom, such anti-wisdom and unethical politics quickly infused itself into the simple and rustic society, eroding the goodness in people.
Finding an antidote must be the priority for Hualien after the election.
The potion has four ingredients: understanding, tolerance, contentment and gratitude. Leaving the old scores behind, we all belong to the same camp after the election -- the camp to make Hualien a better place.
As long as we try to be deferential, understanding and tolerant, what kind of feuds will last forever? If we can be content with what we have and appreciate what others do, then how can there be unlovable people in the world?
So wherever you're based, either in Hualien or other counties, let's say no to the venom and use the potion to heal our bodies and souls, and warm our hearts, for the good of our future.
Hsu Hsiang-ming is an associate professor at Tzu Chi University.
TRANSLATED BY JENNIE SHIH
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