Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
That was, of course, Ma's attempt on the eve of the second debate to show that he really cared about Taiwan after all. It's interesting that he felt he had to do this. After all, his disproportionately mainlander Taipei constituency doesn't care about Taiwan -- except as a foxhole -- and never has. Could Ma's new-found concern for Taiwan's dignity -- which he has done as much as anyone to trash in the last two years since the KMT fell in love with the goal of Greater China regional hegemony under PRC leadership -- reveal something of his wider ambitions? Being Beijing's stooge might be safe in Taipei but plays very poorly indeed in southern Taiwan, which Ma will need if he wants to oust President Chen Shui-bian (
And so we come to the debate yesterday which was very much of an anticlimax. After the murder of Taipei City Councilor Chen Chin-chi (
One of the best parts of DPP candidate Lee Ying-yuan's (
In all fairness though, what the Chen murder really makes one think about is not a lack of safety on the capital's streets, but the murky world of the City Council and many of those who sit on it -- with their close relationship to organized crime.
Beyond this the debate was rather dull, going on at length about trash bags and commute time to CKS airport. Probably the most interesting question was on renaming Taipei's streets, with their nauseating litany of China-derived names, redolent as they are of KMT colonialism. This was something that should have tripped up Ma, but Lee gave him an easy ride -- as he generally did, in fact, all through the debates.
Another issue which could have been fruitfully pursued was why Ma supports the fetishism of mainland culture by his Bureau of Cultural Affairs, or what his problem might be with flying the flag. But the lasting impression of the debates has to be puzzlement about why it is that the DPP can swing away but never seems to be able to land a punch, even on an opponent as vulnerable as Ma. When will they learn?
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