William Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing is an enchanting comedy whose plot takes many twists and turns. It is a romantic tale about two couples in love-hate relationships who come close to splitting up, but join together in the end. Complications appear out of nowhere, forcing the young lovers’ families and friends to scurry about trying to put things right. In the end, everyone realizes all the trouble was much ado about nothing. Shakespeare’s play is a fine allegory for many things Taiwan’s present government has done.
A recent example is the Ministry of Education’s letter to National Taiwan University asking the school authorities to exert more control over articles posted on PTT, the campus electronic bulletin board, which is the most popular online forum of its type in Taiwan. This demand for stricter control over Web posts provoked a backlash from many Internet users.
Are bureaucrats at the education ministry really so out of touch with the way the Internet works that they don’t realize that there is no way of repressing online opinion?
China’s Internet controls are among the world’s strictest, yet all kinds of contending opinions are posted in Chinese forums. If a certain opinion is not posted in one place, it is sure to pop up somewhere else. So the protest by Taiwan’s education ministry will achieve nothing in the end. They are wasting their time making such a fuss. It is much ado about nothing.
Also just recently, the Taipei City Government made known its intention to build social housing on state-owned land just across the road from The Palace, a luxury apartment complex, and it was suggested that this council housing project be named “The Little Palace.”
If this social housing project really gets built, one wonders how many ordinary citizens and poor people would want to go and live in it as “little emperors.” If the government’s real purpose is to provide plenty of housing, it would do better to sell this prized plot and use the money from the sale to build more and better houses somewhere else. On the other hand, if the government wants to make ordinary people think they can live in a palace, it isn’t going to fool anyone with such a fantasy. This plan will probably end up getting quietly shelved. Another case of much ado about nothing.
Another example is the competition arranged earlier this year by the Ministry of the Interior, offering NT$1 million (US$30,000) to whoever could come up with the best slogan to encourage Taiwanese to have more babies. First prize went to the slogan “a child is the best kind of heirloom.” The cost of this competition, including the prize money, publicity, the judging process and sundry expenses, must have been at least NT$1.5 million. If used in another way, this money might really have encouraged people to have more children.
For example, if the government had offered a NT$100,000 subsidy to women who got pregnant this year and will have babies next year, at least it could have produced 15 extra babies. Now the slogan contest is over, it’s like a passing boat that leaves no lasting ripples. It might as well have never happened. Once again, it has been much ado about nothing.
Why are we seeing so many cases of much ado about nothing these days?
It is because the government has no self-confidence, no direction and no courage. Instead of making firm decisions, it prefers to test the waters by putting the word out and seeing how media commentators and the public react. If the reaction is favorable, the government goes ahead with its plans; if not, it withdraws them.
However, in a democratic society there is not just one voice. There will be all kinds of objections to anything, and opposing voices are always the loudest. So the government should have a bit more confidence in itself, set out some clear policy targets and guide the public in that direction. That would be better than always shuffling along, pushed from behind by public opinion and media commentary.
Former US president Abraham Lincoln is quoted as having once said, “If I only had an hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe.” He meant that any business or policy has to be well planned out beforehand, so that when the time comes it can be carried out smoothly, successfully and efficiently. Otherwise, if you try using a blunt axe, you can chop away for ages but the tree still won’t fall. And then you have to start all over again.
Everyone has been busy, but to no avail. Just as Shakespeare wrote — it’s all much ado about nothing.
Chang Ruay-shiung is vice president of National Dong Hwa University.
TRANSLATED BY JULIAN CLEGG
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