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Shih's civic ethics class lacks an open mind

It's understandable that those behind the campaign initiated by former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) to oust president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) have taken great pains to paint the protest as a "civic movement."

But as a small number of intellectuals were clearly aware, although hard-core believers failed to realize it in their exuberance, the incantation of Shih's "September 9 Proclamation" unleashed the awesome hidden power of a "sacred arc of morality."

It was as if an uncontrollable "mirror of clarity" reflected every truth and falsehood.

If this movement was really meant to be a sincere class on "civic ethics" aimed at enlightening a million students, those who believe in the power of the morality must see transitional justice as an expedient measure and not a fundamental core value that their leaders are prepared to believe in.

Shih's movement has probably been the most awkward for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). When balloons with the words "propriety," "justice," "honesty" and "honor" imprinted on them rose into the sky, they twisted and turned in every possible direction.

The KMT, now in the middle of disposing of its party assets, hurriedly fled from the sight of the balloons, avoiding the embarrassment of being examined based on the oversimplicity and lack of purity of this civic ethics class.

If the campaign's "Nazca lines" magic isn't selective, if the mirror of morality unveiled in the Sept. 9 statement doesn't just face one direction and if Taipei's Department of Cultural Affairs lets the balloons with the words "propriety," "justice," "honesty" and "honor" twist in every direction, then how can it be that any and all reflections on transitional justice are missing from this civic ethics class?

If the essence of this "holy war" really is so pure, if the pan-blue and pan-green supporters honestly want to transcend partisanship, then the organizers of the anti-Chen campaign shouldn't limit their scope to just deposing Chen. They should truthfully reflect on whether they themselves possess the analytic abilities required to launch a civic movement.

The true test is whether or not they understand that it is impossible to accept a KMT which uses one standard to judge itself and a different standard to judge everyone else.

They must squarely examine the hypocrisy and preposterousness of the KMT, which has dressed itself in the emperor's new clothes in the form of its new headquarters. This is the only way to bring this class in civic ethics to a close.

Only by incorporating the issues of the KMT's party assets and transitional justice into this civic ethics class will it be possible for the movement to transcend party politics and demonstrate that it is not merely about opposition between the pan-green and pan-blue camps.

If this "clean government" campaign really wants to be a demonstration of civic ethics, it will have no choice but to show every aspect of power, including both truth and hypocrisy.

If participants think that this is a simple matter of exchange of interests, they don't understand the fundamental character of their own movement.

Unless they are aiming to monopolize the right to interpret "civic participation," they must understand that despite their "righteous anger and indignation," it has not been the merciless rain that has stopped people from taking to the streets, but the fact that many people in Taiwan do not accept the rationale given for the protest.

Chien Hsueh-yi is the principal associate of Chien Architects & Associates.

Translated by Marc Langer and Perry Svensson
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