As a Taiwanese, I would join former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh (
One, the campaign were not just against the Democratic Progressive Party's corruption, but also against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Two, if the campaign organizers respected the results of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections and democratic institutions in Taiwan, as opposed to adopting means highly suggestive of a revolution to achieve their goal of unseating President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) before clear judicial results emerge.
Three, if Shih didn't claim that the campaign's outcome would be either Chen's leaving office or Shih's being defeated.
Shih's success in mobilizing some people is but a result of his shrewd political manipulation, which relies on the fact that Taiwan is a divided society where some Mainlanders and their children are still having a hard time reconciling their actual national identity and their fantasy from the KMT's brainwashing of "recovering" China or being "Chinese."
I respect everybody's freedom of speech. But if the campaign organizers exploit such freedom and advocate a revolution or ridicule the judicial and democratic institutions Taiwan has fought hard to establish, they are sabotaging the democracy that most Taiwanese people care about. A recent poll showed that 88 percent of the Taiwanese were not planning to attend the rally.
With its dubious intent, flip-flopping of campaign strategies and so-called "creative" ideas, this campaign has shown signs of losing what little support it had.
Just to show how hypocritical the campaign is, the organizers claimed there would be no noisy horns -- just the "silent power of the large crowds." However, they prepared dozens of massive speakers for the campaign.
One of Taiwan's largest hospitals is just meters away from the campaign site, and there are many government agencies and schools nearby. What kind of "moral standard" is this? How respectful are they toward others? Let alone their respect toward differences in opinions?
Guan Chiu
Bloomington, Indiana
As a Taiwanese who resides in Australia, I get to see the world's views on the protests outside the Presidential Office. And frankly it's a shame that our democracy is totally out of control.
Where else in the world can we see a country where opposing political parties disagree so much? Where else in the world would we see a situation like this? Where is the real pride of being Taiwanese?
I've followed the news reports of the events leading up to this current mayhem. I have to ask: Where is the evidence that Chen acted illegally?
Yes, members of Chen's family are currently under investigation for their affairs, but why target the president? Was he behind all of these affairs? I don't think so.
Look at the current situation from another viewpoint: If someone related to you is being investigated for a crime, should you be targeted as well when all the evidence shows you had nothing do to with it?
How would you feel if, because of this, the people around wanted you to quit your job and feel ashamed of yourself? Surely you would feel innocent and feel like you were being scapegoated.
If people thought about the current situation this way, would there still be protests? Chen has improved Taiwan's international standing during his term, do the people of Taiwan know that? Where are the praises for what any of the politicians have done? I have seen great leaps in Taiwan as a country, as a united country.
What I wish the Taiwanese people could see that among all the political wrangling, the state of our country is reflected in society, with constant violence, continual protests and neverending scrutiny of one another. I begin to wonder if any of the politicians, from any of the parties, actually do anything for the nation.
Timothy Chen
Killara, Australia
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