‘Do things right’
On Sunday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokeswoman Chiang I-chen (江怡臻) said that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung’s (陳時中) campaign slogan, “Do things right,” was plagiarized from New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜). A friend of mine laughed his head off upon hearing the ludicrous news. One cannot help but admire the KMT’s “ingenuity” for coming up with such a notion.
First, “Do things right” is a common expression heard by people at home, on campus or in group activities. Consequently, it is by no means a “monopolized” or “patented” expression that could be used by a select few.
The expression is far from a quote of some grand master of management, but the most mundane, down-to-earth language. The KMT is devious enough to claim it as its own, turning anyone who uses it into a copycat. The interesting thing is, the standard for plagiarism seems to be established by the KMT, that it alone could make the call.
It is no wonder that the KMT is continuing with its mudslinging, given that DPP Taoyuan mayoral candidate Lin Chih-chien’s (林智堅) thesis has already been sent for review by the judiciary.
Second, “Doing things right” is not a slogan, but carrying out one’s promise. While Hou has almost turned the expression into his personal catchphrase, did he actually deliver on his promises?
With Hou’s COVID-19 pandemic prevention policy, for example, the public had been misled into believing that New Taipei City was well-prepared for any situation, as Hou had previously proposed various measures, such as lockdowns, pre-emptive measures and mobile hospitals.
However, after the outbreak, New Taipei City has shown that it was far from prepared: It had a shortage of quarantine stations, pitiful at-home COVID-19 test kits (compared with other cities) and the highest number of COVID-19 cases day after day. The funny thing is Hou’s disease prevention policy was given a high rating by fellow KMT members.
The most baffling thing is the En En (恩恩) case remains unsolved, yet the KMT considers Hou’s performance as “Doing things right.” Perhaps this is the KMT’s idea of doing things right?
Wu Jung-chi
Taipei
The 75th anniversary summit of NATO was held in Washington from Tuesday to Thursday last week. Its main focus was the reinvigoration and revitalization of NATO, along with its expansion. The shadow of domestic electoral politics could not be avoided. The focus was on whether US President Biden would deliver his speech at the NATO summit cogently. Biden’s fitness to run in the next US presidential election in November was under assessment. NATO is acquiring more coherence and teeth. These were perhaps more evident than Biden’s future. The link to the Biden candidacy is critical for NATO. If Biden loses
Shortly after Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) stepped down as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012, his successor, Xi Jinping (習近平), articulated the “Chinese Dream,” which aims to rejuvenate the nation and restore its historical glory. While defense analysts and media often focus on China’s potential conflict with Taiwan, achieving “rejuvenation” would require Beijing to engage in at least six different conflicts with at least eight countries. These include territories ranging from the South China Sea and East China Sea to Inner Asia, the Himalayas and lands lost to Russia. Conflicts would involve Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to