"I've gotten old," said former DPP chairman Shih Ming-te (
Shih is right. He has gotten old. Studies on senior psychology indicate old people tend to exhibit the character traits of children. This means that they often demonstrate unpredictable emotional ups and downs.
In the dark totalitarian era of Chiang Kai-shek (
Shih wept, because he was worried. He especially criticized the DPP for seeking to have the president simultaneously serve as the party's chairman, and to have the party and government integrated as one. He fears that he will face another dictator one day.
In this day and age, installing a dictatorship isn't an easy thing. More than likely, Shih had failed to take into consideration the time factor. How can a president who must face re-election within 4 years become a dictator? At most, he could become too overbearing and high-handed. He may even insist on using his close allies and confidants to elbow out those who hold opinions different from his.
Under Taiwan's past autocracy, the national level representative bodies were never re-elected. The president was then elected by those "representatives" who never had to face re-election. Moreover, the president then had total control of the military and the media. Nowadays, the president's power does not even come close to that. How can he ever become a dictator?
Totalitarianism is an enemy against which Shih had exhausted his youth to fight. This fight had given Shih more than 20 years in jail. While totalitarianism had left everlasting marks on Shih, not much of a mark remains on society today.
In the past, travelers had to prepare a sufficient supply of water and food before hitting the road. Now there are convenience stores that are open 24 hours a day and all year long. Anyone who continues to look at the new environment from an outdated perspective will become embroiled in excessive and undue worries. This is not to mention that he or she will get no thanks for having these worries. For example, with respect to the DPP's efforts to integrate the party and the government, even the PFP thinks it is no one's business but the DPP's. Shih's theory about an emerging dictatorship, in all likelihood, had gone too far.
Shih is a unique case in Taiwan's political circle. His experience as a political prisoner once caused people to place him on a pedestal. But he did not perform up to expectations after his release. But Shih is still the same old Shih. He continues to live in an illusion about himself, placing himself on the same pedestal. Therefore, he often makes awkward remarks. Listeners to these remarks typically don't know whether to agree or disagree with him.
Furthermore, Shih is preparing to run in the Kaohsiung mayoral election. Again, he will place himself on a pedestal, magnifying his importance. That is why he sees himself as a "peacemaker" in the upcoming election. Sadly, Shih no longer merits any real attention. He is recognized by neither the pro-unification nor the pro-independence camps, neither the right nor the left, and neither the south nor north. Under the circumstances, how can he play the role of a "peacemaker?"
His criticisms of Kaohsiung's current mayor Frank Hsieh (
These remarks reflect Shih's repeated self-inflated identity.
Shih is just like an over-size balloon floating in the sky. To we ordinary and practical citizens, he is a little too high, too far, and too unreal. Looking at him makes our neck sore. If we don't look at him, his shadow is everywhere. How irritating.
Chen Ro-jinn is a freelance writer.
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