The Mexican dot dance
Dear Johnny,
Recently, you wrote about the Bush administration getting off its “tuckus,” but I think you meant to spell that tuches. I don’t think spellcheck does Yiddish yet. But my late, great Yiddishe amah told me in an e-mail from the great beyond that it’s tuches.
She even told me another phrase you might use in future columns: a tuches lecker is an ass kisser, one who shamelessly curries favor with superiors, she told me, and please pardon her French.
The second thing I want to pass on to you is this: You asked how President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) interview with Mexican newspaper El Sol de Mexico got into that daily in the first place, characterizing the mashup as a “strange choice of communications vehicle.”
The answer is quite easy to figure out. The boss of the newspaper, Mario Vazquez Rana, came to Taiwan in late August and was decorated with a medal called the Order of the Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon during a ceremony at the Presidential Office. It was Ma that did the decorating.
Connect the dots, Johnny. Ma gives a man a medal; a few days later his newspaper conveniently publishes the “interview” you were talking about.
“One hand washes the other,” as my amah would have put it, were she still alive. I am not sure how to say that in either Yiddish or Spanish, but I think that’s where the dots connect, no?
CHIAYI CHUCK
Johnny replies: Thanks for the information, Chuck.
But a problem remains. In the old days former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) would throw a cat among the pigeons every now and then by sitting down with a Japanese reporter and spilling his guts on matters he would never raise with the Taiwanese press.
It made sense. Lee grew up thinking he was Japanese. He speaks the language. He admires the culture. Selective commentary made him feel more powerful and influential.
Ma, Mexico. I’ve joined the dots, Chuck, like you said. But Ma doesn’t speak Spanish and has never been a lover of Hispanic culture. Is this the best that he can do? And it took a full week for the translation to come through!
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big
RSS