[ LETTER ]

‘Disgrace’ in Geneva

After a banquet for World Health Assembly (WHA) delegates at a restaurant in Geneva on Saturday, Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) was greeted by a group of Taiwanese students who confronted him with tough questions and demanded to know if Taiwan’s sovereignty had been compromised in exchange for being an observer at this year’s WHA conference.

The volley of questions annoyed the minister so much he practically told the students to get lost, calling them a disgraceful bunch. Yeh uttered words that were not befitting someone of his status.

Perhaps realizing that he had behaved childishly and anticipating an inevitable media onslaught, Yeh later held a press conference and shed tears while saying “no one loves Taiwan more than I do.”

The whole melodramatic episode deserves a closer reading. The first question is why the minister lost his cool.

The answer is that Taiwan’s sovereignty has ceased to exist since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office. Yeh knows this and he expected the students who heckled him to be likewise informed.

The second question is why Yeh held a press conference.

On the surface, it was a pre-emptive measure against inevitable criticism from the pan-green camp and the media.

But it could also be read as a child’s cry for a pacifier. This need was satisfied when Ma sent words of support. The pan-blue media also rallied in support, giving Yeh an enormous binky by portraying the students as a reckless and disgraceful bunch.

YANG CHUNHUI

Salt Lake City, Utah