On Aug. 2, the Shanghai-based news Web site The Paper published an opinion piece headlined “False, exaggerated and empty talk are another kind of corruption,” saying that there is an easily overlooked form of political corruption — corruption of words and speech.
This happens when officials brag about themselves and flatter others, and when they gloss over problems but embellish their own supposed achievements, it said.
On Dec. 26, 2017, the term “tall talk, little action” was coined by the “Strong Nation Forum” on the People’s Daily Web site. This is another name for the same kind of corruption.
The original post said that bureaucrats talk like this not only to hoodwink their underlings, but also their superiors, and to win rewards while concealing their own incompetence.
This behavior harms the nation and runs contrary to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) demands and the public’s expectations, the author added.
The People’s Daily is the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) premier mouthpiece, while behind the state-funded The Paper stands Shanghai’s two main newspapers: the Jiefang Daily and Wenhui Bao. The opinions expressed in these two papers are a good sign of which way the wind is blowing in the CCP.
What if Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, is judged by this CCP standard?
His words and deeds ever since his mayoral campaign are clearly meant to conceal his incompetence. They are corrupt and harmful to the nation — they would indeed run contrary to Xi’s demands and the public’s expectations.
So how can the CCP still support Han? It can only be to let him wreak havoc in Taiwan.
The political views Han raised during his mayoral campaign were absurdly unrealistic, but he justified them by saying: “It is a beautiful thing to have a dream.”
The people who voted for him let “love and tolerance” blind them to his true character.
On April 23, Han hinted at his presidential ambitions by saying: “Kaohsiung can only do better if Taiwan does well. Only if Taiwan can change can I really change Kaohsiung.”
Since then he has done ridiculous things such as climbing a tree to look for hollows that might harbor mosquitoes, piling up files to show his “heavy” workload and claiming that the state apparatus is spying on him.
At an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday last week, Han spoke a quirky jumble of Chinese and English.
Things that cast doubt on Han’s morals keep coming to light, such as his wife’s ownership of an illegally built “farmhouse,” his fondness for alcohol and gambling and his posturing as a “man of the people.” No wonder his opinion poll ratings keep sinking.
The most worrying question is what would happen if Han really does become president and US-China tensions become fraught enough to force Taiwan to take a side.
Han said that Kaohsiung can only do better if Taiwan does well. He has been spending more energy on his presidential ambitions than on governing Kaohsiung. What if Han, as president, were to say: “Taiwan can only do better if China does well,” then drops Taiwan and goes to serve as vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference?
Han does not even meet China’s moral standards. Does the KMT really want someone like him to be its candidate for president?
Yu Kung is a Taiwanese businessman operating in China.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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