In his speech at a recent conference held by Taiwan's professional civil engineers, PFP Chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) harsh criticism of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) caused some civil engineers to protest right there and then. According to media reports, the loss of these engineers' temper was much worse than Soong's comments on Chen.
Soong is not the first political figure to be challenged by the audience because of improper statements and speeches. Another example is Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) conduct at a meeting held by Academia Sinica last year. The academics protested against her speech because she talked about nothing else but politics.
The fact that the voice of these politicians is "choked" by the audience is a problem of their own making. If they are invited to make politics-related speeches, the host organizations would have no control over the content of their speeches.
However, Taiwan's politicians are hopeless to the extent that they talk about politics wherever they are invited to make speeches. Worse yet, they have a craving for scolding their opponents severely and they do not know how to end their speeches without doing so.
On the other hand, the host organizations that invite these politicians bring disgrace on their own head. For most of the civil and business organizations in Taiwan, the guests of honor are always political figures, particularly those in high office. The presence of Taiwan's president is considered an invaluable treasure.
Because these organizations do not know beforehand what the invited guests will say in their speeches, they are out of luck if they find a speech unedifying.
Although political figures are not role models for morals, their frequent exposure often catches media attention. As our society has seen and heard enough of these political figures, it is unavoidable that some people imitate them.
What is even more terrible is that this kind of bad practice is also "self-contagious." If the president, vice president, and party chairmen cannot choose their spoken words wisely and public opinion cannot do anything about it, the lower-rank politicians, of course, follow in the footsteps of high officials.
This kind of bad practice in Taiwan's political arena is like the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
It is even more intolerable that Taiwan's political figures, who often treat each other with respect and smile when they meet in person, become cold-hearted and vicious once they are on their own podium. This is most evident during election campaigns.
Once the elections are over, they change from scoundrels to gentlemen. This practice by hypocrites and distorted personalities is the most dangerous virus that corrupts Taiwan's politics.
If political figures continue to take delight in making derogatory speeches everywhere, they will end up like Soong and Lu sooner or later.
But if all of us are of the same mind to stop inviting political figures and let them die from loneliness, we can have peace of mind and perhaps politicians will learn to restrain themselves.
Wang Chien-chuang is president of The Journalist magazine.
Translated by Grace Shaw
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