Legislator Diane Lee's (
We are first awestruck by Lee's portrayal of the famous Chinese military heroine Hua Mulan (
Lo throws down the gauntlet, and Lee makes a dramatic move for that weapon favored by female legislators -- the glass of water. Having been on the receiving end of a few tossed beverages in his time, Lo sees what is coming and intercepts the water glass in a virtuoso display of kung fu. The resulting action is a wonderful piece of choreographed mayhem right out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Lo makes short work of Lee's minions and charges at the heroine herself, dealing her the famous slap that was heard around the island. Far from shrinking before the terrible onslaught, Lee enthusiastically throws herself into the fray.
In the subsequent donnybrook, the audience is spellbound as Lee repeatedly charges back into the battle, seemingly to dare "Mad Dog" Lo to hit her again. Never one to turn down a chance to play "slap face" with his fellow legislators, Lo obliges Lee and strikes her several more times. The brief but riveting scene ends with Lo being dragged away, foaming at the mouth and swearing terrible vengeance.
At this moment the audience is witness to a remarkable transformation. In the blink of an eye, Lee sheds her Hua Mulan persona and emerges as a delicate porcelain doll who has been victimized.
Daintily dabbing her teary eyes, the suddenly frail Lee claims to be at a complete loss as to why Lo attacked her.
After the obligatory trip to the hospital for confirmation of her trauma ("In my professional opinion, you have been slapped in the face." "Thank you, Doctor. How long do you think I will need to recover?" "Ten minutes or three weeks, depending on how much media coverage you can milk out of this."), the drama ends with Lee parading her wounds for all to see -- or not to see, depending on how good one's imagination is.
"Lo Fu-chu goes berserk" rates right up there with "Annette Lu (
And laugh they will, both at the boorish behavior of that thug-cum-legislator Lo, and at the ridiculous overacting of Lee in her role as "innocent" victim.
To most of us, this whole case is quite simple. No matter what Lee said about Lo, there can be no excuse for his physical assault. If Lee deliberately provoked him with baseless accusations, then he should have risen above it and preserved the dignity of the legislature.
If Lee attempted to throw a glass of water at him, he was perfectly within his rights to reply in kind. What he should not have done was hit Lee. In most countries, Lo's actions would be treated as a criminal offense, all the more serious since the victim was a woman. Caught as he was on video, Lo would be hard pressed to escape a stint behind bars.
But here in Taiwan? Stay tuned for the sequel -- or should I say "rematch"?
Bonnie Hsieh is a freelance writer based in Taipei.
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