US creates its foes
While we all expressed absolute dismay and sadness at the tragic events of Sept. 11, we were at the same time trying to make sense of what would motivate people to do such a thing.
It was easy and comforting for many people to label the perpetrators as evil and envious of US success. This however, was far too simplistic. It cannot be ignored that US foreign policy had become extremely isolationist, selectively altruistic and downright dictatorial at times.
The US refused to sign or at least find a constructive way to make the Kyoto agreement truly significant. It refused to take part in the UN Conference on Racism. Regardless of its feelings that the conference was aimed at rebuking Israel, it would have gained much more by being an active dissenting voice. It continued with sanctions against the Iraqi people when these clearly had not done much to loosen Saddam Hus-sein's grip on power, in defiance of the rest of the world. It blindly supported Israel even in the midst of naked aggression as it bullied Palestinians ... the list goes on.
I suggest to you that the US creates its foes, and rather than review its foreign policy, what has it done? It has bombed one of the poorest nations in the world in the name of eradicating terrorism and now self-righteously proclaims it is leading in the rebuilding of that country!
I am shocked that none of the prisoners being held in Cuba have been given prisoner-of-war status. I salute Britain for challenging the US on this because there is clearly a dangerous precedent being set here. Who is to say the Geneva Convention will not just be ignored in future? Once again a flagrant display by the US of its willingness to flex its diplomatic might. It is simple: some of those prisoners were captured during the war and are therefore POWs.
It is about time that the US realized it is part of a global community -- something it remembered all too well when asking for the support of nations during the Sept. 11 tragedy. How quickly we forget!
Brandon Stoltenkamp
Kaohsiung
Wake up, Taiwan media!
The prospect of becoming a millionaire overnight is apparently no longer just a pipe dream, as the nation goes wild about lottery tickets. Faced with the opportunity to win jackpots of up to a million dollars, there are few people who wouldn't be tempted to have a try, especially during a recession and in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holidays. The hope of winning the huge prize and transforming one's life has become yet another fairy tale for most people in Taiwan.
No wonder then, that the obsession has given rise to certain outlandish phenomena, such as a magic table that identifies lucky numbers, the use of public figures' birthdays to predict popular numbers, even cosmetic surgery to bring one's fortune.
The most ridiculous aspect of all this, however, is that the media has given saturation coverage to this sensationalist nonsense. What on earth is wrong with our media? Have they also been rendered insane by this crazy fad, unable to distinguish between the newsworthy and the non-newsworthy?
Since the beginning of this year, we have had to put up with the ebb and flow of the media's crazes, from a public figure's sex-VCD scandal to a lawmaker's sex party -- and then the lottery. But we rarely see meaningful commentaries from the media about these phenomena. All we see is gossip and trivia where there should be news reports.
Undoubtedly, handling news in this way brings huge profits to the media, but it will also destroy their reputation. Why can't the media deliver analytical commentaries? What role has the press played in the gambling fad? The press might respond with the hackneyed defense that it is simply faithfully reporting social phenomena. If so, then we are bound to wonder whether the press -- the so-called "fourth estate" charged with defending freedom of speech -- has degenerated to the extent that it seeks purely to make a profit while meeting the masses' demand for gossip.
If journalism in Taiwan wishes to win the respect of the people, so that it can enjoy the respect that the profession enjoys in Western countries, it must improve its professionalism and self-discipline. It must never treat the people as fools and feed them nonsense and gossip. It is truly to be hoped that the press will not only accurately recount events, but also use their professional skills to elaborate on the significance of those events!
Eric Chiou
Taipei
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