The leaders and followers of the People First Party (PFP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) look like former plunderers who are unhappy to see their playground being occupied by their political opponent. They are unhappy because all their power, prestige, influence, benefits -- or, in a word, wealth -- are no longer reserved for their exclusive use. If people would only keep their eyes wide open, they would realize that those parties have done their best to plunder the nation's resources by force and fraud from the start (1945) to the end (2000) of their regime.
I suggest their supporters ask themselves a very important question: "Where am I going by following [PFP] Chairman James Soong (
But can you see their political ideology and their strategic vision? Can you trust a party whose force comes only from one political superstar? Ma may appear virtuous, but his party was founded on social elitism and wealth.
I strongly advise the followers of the PFP and the KMT to stop watching their favorite TV channel's news and stop reading their favorite newspapers, because those media are manipulating them with a daily bombardment of news about corruption allegations against the president's relatives and his aides. How dare the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) play dirty, corrupt games?
While some members of the DPP are admittedly guilty of corruption, some have been accused without sufficient proof. It's ridiculous to conclude that the entire party is corrupt just because of a few bad eggs.
Corruption has become a tradition in Taiwan since this practice was passed on from one generation to another. Everybody is more or less involved, especially politicians.
Businesspeople fund politicians in exchange for some other profit. Politicians have been contaminated by capitalism's relentless drive to acquire more and more, abandoning their integrity and turning into predators.
If you don't believe this argument, ask yourself: Are all my actions legal? Am I always fair and honest? Would I like my child, my mother or my friends to know that I used money or a "friend" or a "network of friends" to influence a decision-making process in order to get my diploma or achieve some social status? You will probably find that some of your actions are also unethical and corrupt. This problem is deeply rooted in society. It cannot be solved as long as people are willing to offer and accept bribes.
Taiwan is one of the rare democracies in Asia, while the People's Republic of China is a communist country that is rushing into capitalism and whose prime objective is to swallow Taiwan. If the Taiwanese people want to protect their children, they must first protect the nation's democracy. They must exert greater efforts to strengthen democracy instead of simply making money. They must support the party whose ideals and visions are to preserve democracy in Taiwan.
Perhaps they find it hard to resist the global lure of capitalism and the taint of corruption. But they can still establish strong familial and community ties to promote more humanist core values in society.
Nobody is perfect, not even President Chen Shui-bian (
Sylvie Allassonniere
Taipei
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