Media ‘Linsanity’ excessive
Recent media hype in Taiwan over “Linsanity” has gone ballistic and has once again revealed the extreme to which the media here are obsessed with entertainment and sensationalization, rather than simply reporting.
For the past two weeks, Jeremy Lin (林書豪) has been the lead story practically every night on TV newscasts and has been splashed across the front pages of newspaper and magazine to such an extent that it almost makes one wonder if the rest of the world has suddenly stopped.
As if all this hero worship of Lin were not enough, a TV “news report” on Sunday night even went so far as to take on the role of matchmaker by speculating which young single ladies might be suitable candidates to be Lin’s girlfriend or potential wife.
That is not “news” by any stretch of the imagination. That is nothing more than tabloid gossip and the news managers and editors responsible for such irresponsible “journalism” ought to be ashamed of peddling this hyper-sensationalism as “news.”
It is disgusting to see the media here salivate like Pavlov’s dogs and their behavior is an insult to ethical and professional journalism.
As an English teacher who has been teaching a course on journalistic English the past several years, I readily recognize that there is a proper balance between the people’s “right to know” and the “right to privacy” in journalism, but the media here by and large have this dichotomy way off balance.
Apparently Lin thinks so too, as on Sunday night he pleaded with Taiwanese media to back off from his family and personal life. As he stated concerning his Taiwanese family, “I want people to respect their privacy.”
Get it, Taiwanese media? Lin is not a god, no matter how hard you are trying to turn him into one.
Yes, his talent and accomplishments have been eye-catching and he deserves credit and recognition for them, but above all, Lin is human. Treat him and his family humanely.
Wayne Schams
Pingtung
Ads from criminals
As an avid fan and regular reader of the Taipei Times, I was surprised to see a paid advertisement on page 4 of Sunday’s paper that made lunatic religious claims.
Tossing my own non-religious bias aside, what disturbed me the most is that the claims made in the advertisement come from Warren Jeffs, the former president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS).
If the name is not familiar to any of your readers, Jeffs was on the US FBI’s 10 most-wanted list in 2006 and is now serving life plus 20 years in US prison for the sexual assault of both a 12 and a 15-year-old girl.
During the sentencing phase of his court case last year, Jeffs’ nephew testified to having been raped since he was five years old and his niece testified to having been raped since she was seven.
The lurid details of Jeffs’ actions can be easily accessed by a simple Google search, which will return descriptions of some of the most heinous acts of child abuse ever documented.
That the Taipei Times printed an advertisement carrying a message from such a person is unfathomable.
As “penitence,” I suggest both an apology to readers and a feature article on what Warren Jeffs and the FLDS Church have done to children in the name of religion.
Martin Robinson
Taipei
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing