These video clips are were shot last weekend in Taipei at the Jin Mei Political Prison, which is now a human rights park. The KMT want to turn it into a cultural park where artists can dance and perform. It is a dark, but important part of Taiwanese history. The KMT wants to turn it into a cultural park so that they can ERASE their (KMT) ugly history in Taiwan.
I wasn’t when I first moved back to Taiwan, but I just got my citizenship a few years back.
3)When and how did you first get involved with Taiwan issues? What else since then has contributed most to your passion for Taiwan's democracy?
I didn’t really start to think about Taiwan issues until I attended Taiwanese American Foundation (TAF) and was able to meet other ABTs for the first time.Meeting other ABTs gave me a sense of belonging, but it also made me realize I was lacking in understanding of what it really meant to be Taiwanese especially in terms of history.I wanted to come back to Taiwan so I could improve my Taiwanese, learn more about the culture, and basically make some Taiwanese friends.
After having lived in Taiwan now for almost 8 years, I’ve been able to see first hand the incompetence and influence of the KMT. For over 60 years now, the KMT has used manipulation, murder, imprisonment, cooptation, and propaganda to maintain control over the Taiwanese public. There are so many Taiwanese people that have been brainwashed by the KMT system, that I feel that every voice, no matter how small, can have an influence here in Taiwan as long as you speak out against the system. I think due to Taiwan’s size, if you’re willing to just let your voice be heard, you can really make a difference. Seeing everyday Taiwanese people, old and young, speak and demonstrate their love for Taiwan contributes most to my passion for Taiwan.
4)What are you studying in school right now?
Political Economy
5)We know you've been doing a podcast on Taiwan politics targeted to the younger generation. What are some of the ways you try to engage their interest?
Currently, I’m trying to present politics in a more humorous manner.The things that politicians and the KMT say here in Taiwan are borderline ridiculous and rarely if ever based in fact.Just pointing these things out is funny enough.I’m also experimenting with some stand up comedy to try to introduce politics and news to Taiwanese youth in a funny, indirect way.I just wish my Taiwanese was better.
I also want to start interviewing people for my show and well as trying to record some shorter podcasts. The problem with my web show now is that it’s too long. Most young people in Taiwan don’t have the patience to listen to me rant for two hours every show. I’m going to need to get creative and up the production value a little bit too. I’m definitely going a little too ghetto-style now. I would love to eventually get a show like the Daily Show started out here, but that’s just a dream right now. But when every news channel out in Taiwan is like FOX News, you can’t help but think how successful a show like that could be in Taiwan.
6)How would you describe young people’s general outlook and knowledge about the political situation?
Extremely apathetic and dangerously lacking. Too many Taiwanese youth watch the TV news or read the garbage papers out here without even thinking about where these messages are coming from (KMT). The Taiwanese have also been trained since a very young age by the KMT to not get involved in politics.
7)We can see in some videos you weren't the only one. Who else protested with you?
The day I went to protest, one of my friends went with me as well as three friends from DPP city legislator Wang Ding Yu’s office. One guy was filming while the rest of us protested.
8)What happened after you were ushered out of the room? How did security react? Did you get into any legal or administrative trouble?
After I was pushed out of the room, all the media ran out after me to get a quote and my information, leaving Chang Ming Qing all alone. There was a heavy police presence that day, but they had all went to the school main gate because Wang Ding Yu had taken protestors to protest in front of the school to create a distraction.The police didn’t think anyone was actually going to go in and protest, so they left Chang Ming Qing guarded by only three security guards.After they ushered us out, they immediately returned to the auditorium to protect Chang Ming Qing. Nothing happened legally or administratively to me. The cops were harassing me for awhile (checking my household registry and calling me) until Wang Ding Yu told the Tainan chief of police that I was going to lodge a complaint with AIT. Since then, I haven’t heard from the po-po.
9)What gave you the courage to speak up?
I don’t think what I did in anyway was courageous. I just did what any Taiwanese person would have done if given the chance. When I think of courageous Taiwanese people, I think of the tens of thousands of people that had their lives taken during 228 and the White Terror (Chiang Ching Kuo’s Terror). People like, Deng Nan-rung, who in 1989 took his own life by setting his office ablaze after 71 days of self-confinement to protest the right for freedom of speech, are truly the courageous people of Taiwan. Speaking out just a few decades ago in Taiwan probably meant the end of your life, yet look at how many Taiwanese still spoke out, that’s courage. Without our parent’s generation of discrimination and sacrifice, I would have never been able to do what I did.
10)Many of us admire you for your bravery in the states. What was the Taiwanese public's reaction to your action? Have Taiwanese come to speak to you personally?
Overall the reaction was very positive.Right after my protest, I was interviewed by SET, and then Min Shi actually came to my house to do an interview.Min Shi mentioned my blog during their interview so after it aired a lot of people visited my blog.At first, most of the comments were all giving me support, but then I noticed a ton of haters leaving comments telling me I was crazy and that I should go back to the States.I was also asked to appear on Min Shi’s Boss Talk and was given a chance to speak at the DPP 10/25 rally as well.I also got free food for a week because all the restaurants I ate at saw my news and treated me.
The week after it happened, many Taiwanese people of all ages came up to me to shake my hand and just talk a bit about Taiwan. Surprisingly, when I went up to Taipei there were even some KMT supporters that said they respected what I did. What meant the most to me, were all the young Taiwanese people that came up to show their support.
11)What inspired you to protest in the way you did, as opposed to a different way of being heard?
Basically, I just used what I had at my disposal, my loud mouth and my incorrectly spelled banner. Taiwanese people need to be inspired to make a change from within. We can not keep looking to the rest of the world for help and guidance when we as a people are so divided. We need to come together and stand as one. Young people in Taiwan need to wake up and realize that we are the ones that will be responsible for Taiwan’s future. We must now collectively take a stand and let our voice be heard.
The National Communication Commission (NCC-國家通訊傳播委員會) was established on February 22, 2006 under the pretense that it would regulate the information, communications and broadcasting industry. The NCC claims to be an independent agency; however it is a part of the Executive Yuan and its members are appointed according to the ratio of the legislative seats held by each party. Since the legislature has always been dominated by the KMT, the NCC has been nothing more than a tool for the KMT in silencing opposing voices. The latest report by the NCC, which was then followed by proposed draft regulations, puts into serious question the effectiveness and impartiality of the agency.
Statistics released on Monday (2/2) by the NCC show that Da Hua News (大話新聞) received the most complaints from TV viewers about its content and statistics, while Boss Talk (頭家來開講) came in second. Amongst pan-green viewers, both shows are highly popular and allow the opportunity for some alternative programming and news. These two shows are in sharp contrast to the shows regularly seen on blue stations such as TVBS, CTI (中天), ETTV (東森), or ERA (年代). The NCC claims that complaints included shows inviting pundits who had no background in finance or economics that gave "inflated" or "false" statistics about the economy and made "sensational remarks" without citing evidence. The NCC did not provide any specifics, but it's safe to assume that the NCC probably did not check financial or economic backgrounds of the TV viewers that lodged the complaints. Sort of makes a difference if the person complaining has two PHDs or is just a viewer with an opposing political view.
The NCC said that last year it received about 1,300 complaints concerning public broadcasts. More than 1,100 of them dealt with TV programs. Amongst the cable news channels, according to NCC numbers, SET News (三立新聞), ETTV News (東森新聞) and CTI News (中天新聞) received the most complaints. SET, which happens to be one of the two pan-green channels, had more than 60 complaints. ETTV and CTI had 31 and 20 complaints respectively. The NCC did not make public the nature of the complaints.
Using these complaints as an excuse the NCC on Monday (2/2) approved a draft amendment to the Satellite Radio and Television Law (衛星廣播電視法). The proposed amendment plans to set stricter regulations on TV news and comments during talk show programs. The NCC said news and talk shows must "follow fact-checking procedures and the principles of equality." Under the new law, channels would be required to remove programs if they were decided by the KMT, sorry, NCC to have repeatedly broken the law. The original law previously penalized both channel and cable TV service providers if programs made violations. The new regulations would only have the channel penalized.
One of the only positive aspects of the proposed changes is the plan to limit the use of "placement marketing" or "embedded marketing." Placement marketing refers to the practice of the government, political parties, or the military footing the bill for programs that are in support of a specific government policy or political candidate. The NCC has proposed that embedded marketing be prohibited in news channels and channels for children or young adults. If the amendment passes, TV stations will be required to inform viewers prior to the broadcast if the program is produced or sponsored by any government organization or a specific political campaign.
So basically, a KMT proposed amendment from a KMT dominated NCC must now pass through the KMT infested legislature. Wonder what the outcome will be? The new changes would see channels be fined between NT$400,000 (US$11,800) and NT$2 million. If channels disagree with the KMT's NCC and choose to appeal, the channels would have to present evidence to the contrary of wrongdoing. The NCC has said that no particular program will be targeted, but it does not take a brain surgeon to see that Da Hua News (大話新聞) and Boss Talk (頭家來開講) are going to be in for a turbulent ride. Former cabinet spokesman, Hsieh Zhi-wei (謝志偉), host of Boss Talk, had said the new changes would not affect the way he speaks in anyway.
From its conception, the NCC has been nothing more than an extension of the KMT media propaganda control mechanism. How can a commission that is based on the ratio of seats held in the legislature be truly independent? If one of the purposes of the NCC is to remove politics from the media, shouldn't we first remove politics from the NCC? Taiwan's once open and free media has already seen the KMT exert pressure and manipulation at the Public Television Service (PTS-公視), the Central News Agency (CNA-中央社) and Radio Taiwan International (RTI-中央廣播電台). The KMT are in a mad scramble to control all media in Taiwan in an attempt to cover up the fact that Ma Ying Jeou (馬英九) and his administration are completely clueless and lost. Media control or no media control, the Taiwanese have discovered a voice, and this voice can no longer be silenced, communication commission or no communication commission.
In terms of media freedom, Taiwan used to be regarded as having the most open media in Asia according to Freedom House's 2008 report. However, in little over half a year since the Chinese KMT (國民黨) has taken back the presidential office, the Taiwanese people have seen their freedom of expression greatly stifled. Whether it is freedom of speech, freedom of assembly or freedom of the press, rights that were once openly practiced and respected in Taiwan are being trampled by Ma Ying Jeou (馬英九) and his KMT administration. To cover up a dismal performance since assuming office, Ma Ying Jeou and the KMT have sunken their claws further into Taiwan's media. First, with television news and broadcasting, before that state run news and radio agencies, and now all newspapers are being told what they can and can not write.
Stations such as TVBS (新聞), CTI (中天新聞), ETTV (東森新聞), and ERA (年代新聞) have always been nothing more than mere propaganda outlets for the KMT, as well as the Chinese Communist Party. The fact that they refer to themselves as news stations is not only a complete misnomer, it's also one of the main reasons that the Taiwanese public can never get any real unbiased news reporting on the island. Now the KMT is going after the Public Television Service (PTS - 公視), the equivalent to PBS in the U.S. In the second half of 2008, the KMT caucus suspended the NT$450 million (US$13.5 million) budget for PTSand came up with a proposal that all programming budget must be first approved by the Government Information Office (GIO-新聞局). The freeze in budget affected daily operations, program production, and the payment of fees to commissioned production houses and partners.
The proposal, first put forth by KMT legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世), states that Public Television Service (PTS), Taiwan Indigenous TV (TITV), Hakka TV, and Macroview TV (aimed at overseas Taiwanese) can only disburse programming and production budgets upon prior item-by-item government approval from the GIO (新聞局), which is just a polite way of saying that the KMT government will exert censorship and control over PTS news coverage and programming. The proposal was easily passed in the KMT dominated legislature just a few weeks ago. The KMT also nominated four legislators to new positions on the review committee in charge of choosing candidates for PTS board members. These moves can be seen as nothing more than blatant attempts to further control alternative media outlets in Taiwan.
Since Ma Ying Jeou has taken office, the KMT have been on a crazed mission to take back whatever freedoms the previous administration had tried to expand on in terms of freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Media manipulation and suppression of the truth are the name of the game for the Chinese KMT. Any voices that criticize Ma or his administration or speak out in support of the people of Taiwan are purposefully ignored as if they were nothing more than mere background noise. This puts into perspective why Ma Ying Jeou appointed the spokesman from his presidential campaign, Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), to serve as deputy president of the state-owned Central News Agency (CNA-中央社) and why head of the KMT's policy research department, Wang Tan-ping (汪誕平), was appointed director of the state-owned Radio Taiwan International (RTI-中央廣播電台).
So as Ma appoints a few of his coterie into state run media, the KMT now have another way of screening (clouding) what information and news these outlets can distribute. Reports have already surfaced from both CNA (中央社) and RTI (中央廣播電台) on infringement of press freedoms. As stated in the Taipei Times (1/04/09), "some reporters could not get their reports published or aired, others were told to write down reports about the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) or to downplay unflattering news about the government, and a number were transferred to other beats at the request of officials." Exactly what influence does the DPP have currently in Taiwan's government? None really since the executive, legislature, judicial, and media are all controlled by the KMT. Ma and the KMT still believe that they can manipulate and control the media as they see fit. Recent articles coming out of the CNA have been almost comical in the way they attempt to kiss ass and suck up to the KMT.
Possibly one of the most disturbing, and most ridiculous, moves by the KMT has been its recent order to no longer allow Mandarin newspapers in Taiwan to write the two Chinese characters for "suicide" (自殺). The word "suicide" (自殺) must now be replaced with "dead" (亡). The reason for this is that since Ma Ying Jeou has taken office, the suicide rate in Taiwan has continued to increase. However, during last year's election campaign, Ma repeatedly cited Chen Sui-bian's economic policies as the reason people were committing suicide in Taiwan. Let's ignore the fact that Ma had absolutely no real evidence whatsoever to support that claim. Now the reality is that Ma's ineffective economic policies and inept administration have left the Taiwanese people in a much worse economic situation than before. As the number of suicides continued to increase after Ma's election, the KMT first had the National Communication Commission (NCC) restrict all television news from reporting any suicides on television. Now, all Mandarin newspapers are being told to play word games.
If Taiwan is to have any hope of developing into a truly free and democratic society, political intervention in the Taiwanese media must come to an end. All the examples I have presented above have occurred in less than a year's time. The KMT have long understood that by controlling the media, they can control and sway public opinion on the island. Now that the KMT are back in control, they are pulling out all the stops and do not mind stepping on any or all of our democratic rights as free citizens of Taiwan. Taiwan's media is starting to look more and more like China's every day, and not in a good way. The people of Taiwan must speak out now while we still have the freedom to. Think about it, if today newspapers cannot write "suicide" (自殺), what's to say tomorrow they will be able to write "Taiwanese people" (臺灣人). At this rate, we'll probably have to replace it with "Chinese people" (中國人). The only thing that really needs replacing is Ma Ying Jeou and the KMT.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not buying into this propaganda bombardment about the two pandas that came over the other week from China to Taiwan. Chinese and international websites make it seem like everyone in Taiwan is talking about "Tuan Tuan" and "Yuan Yuan" (together means "reunion") with nothing but love. An article in the Economist (China and Taiwan: Cuddlier than ever) said, "the recent improvement of cross-strait ties will become all the more evident later in the month when two pandas are due to be flown (directly) from China to Taiwan as a goodwill gift."
Okay, so a lot of Taiwanese people are talking about the pandas, but much of what is going around is harsh criticism and anger rather than child-like wonderment. The KMT and Chinese media would have you believe Taiwanese children are going crazy to see these two animals. That's hardly the case. The KMT government has said that with the addition of the pandas yearly attendance at the Taipei Zoo will top 6,000,000 visitors. Ask yourself this, how many times does anyone go to the zoo in one year? And to be honest, when you go to the zoo, are the animals ever all out playing and frolicking around like you see on National Geographic or the Discovery Channel? The last time I went to the zoo, I just saw a lot of depressed animals out of their natural habitats, locked in cages or enclosures, and not doing anything but lying around because they're depressed about being locked up. Oh yeah, and the smell of feces was everywhere.
We also need to recall in what setting these pandas were even offered in the first place to Taiwan. The pandas were first offered in 2005, when two-time presidential candidate loser, Lien Chan, of the KMT, on no authority from the Taiwanese government whatsoever, took a trip to China to hold a CCP-KMT forum. Lien Chan's trip couldn't have been at a worse time for Taiwan. Two weeks before Lien Chan went on his historical treasonous trip, China had just rammed through its rubberstamp congress the Anti-Secession Law, which says that if Taiwan declares formal independence, that China has the right to attack Taiwan by force. Huh? Before Lien Chan committed treason, the international community was just starting to pay attention to the Taiwan issue, with more and more countries criticizing China for creating their ridiculous law. To the international community it sent the wrong signal that the Taiwanese people themselves did not care or worry about the Anti-Secession Law since Lien Chan could immediately make a trip to Taiwan's only enemy state, so attention faded. At the time, who knows what the actual cost will be now, they said this "goodwill gift" from China would cost Taiwan over NT $50 million a year, NT $35 million a year of which goes directly back to China to take care of their pandas. What sane individual would want to receive a gift like that?
So many things about these pandas being in Taiwan is wrong. Let's start with their names, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan. I mean, can we be anymore obvious? The Chinese government has given a few explanations to the names. The first is that 100,000,000 million Chinese people, that's almost half of China's online population, went online to vote for the names. Another is that Chinese kids went online and voted for the names. So what the Chinese government is trying to us is that children all throughout China were actually mulling over what names would be politically the most effective but not quite as obvious as just naming them "reunification." Both explanations are typical CCP fairy tales.
As to whether or not the names of the pandas will be changed, the KMT has said there are no plans to do so. Taipei City Mayor, Hau Long Bing (郝龍斌), has said the names of the pandas would not be changed due to the fact that the pandas have reached maturity and have grown up with their names since birth. Hau actually said that to change their names would not be respecting their animal rights. So the KMT will not allow the Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize winner, to visit Taiwan to speak out for human rights, but they will respect the rights of the pandas. Taiwanese people could not protest freely and were forcibly restrained from displaying the R.O.C. flag or Tibetan flag when Chen Yun Lin (陳雲林) visited Taiwan. Where were Taiwanese people's rights then? But now when it comes to pandas, all of a sudden, we need to start respecting their animal rights. I'm pretty sure that if we change their names, the pandas will be the last ones to be upset about it.
Taiwan has already wasted millions and millions of NT dollars just to build the enclosure for the pandas, not to mention how much it's going to cost to feed these huge animals every year. Just to bid to house the pandas, zoos in Taichung and Hsinchu built separate multimillion NT dollar enclosures which have both gone to waste. With the massive layoffs that Taiwan is experiencing, skyrocketing unemployment, and the shape of the global economy that way it is, who really has time to take their children to see some pandas? The Taiwanese people need help now, not the pandas. The KMT government should stop wasting money on this panda show and spend it on the Taiwanese public instead. The last thing we want to see on the news or in the papers now is whether or not the pandas are having good bowel movements or not. This was in the papers the other day, I shit you not. The pandas are just another thing to take the attention of the dismal performance of the KMT government here in Taiwan. This Chinese circus can only last so long. In 2009, one place you're not going to see me or many of my fellow Taiwanese I'm sorry to say is in line at the Taipei Zoo.
Many of Chen’s supporters said the detention was uncalled for because the prosecution has failed to give any evidence or backing for the basis of his detention. From your observation, do you think Chen has been rightfully detained?
I don’t think we can say that things happen in Taiwan because of right or wrong.If there was really this belief in Taiwan, would the police brutality unleashed upon protesting Taiwanese citizens have occurred last week when Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) was here?If we respected what is right and wrong, would the Sunrise records store have been closed for playing a Taiwanese song?What can we say about A-bian’s detainment?The only thing I think we can say now is that it happened.
How do you think Chen’s detention will affect the Taiwanese public sentiment?Could it further fragmentize, or unite the Taiwanese people?
Well, this depends upon what viewpoint you look at Chen Suibian (陳水扁) detention from.If you’re blue-leaning, then A-bian’s (阿扁) detainment is a gift from above.With A-bian back in the news, the KMT-dominated media can continue to talk about things that are not important to Taiwan’s current situation whatsoever, like A-bian and his family.As if A-bian has anything to do with Taiwan’s current economic woes, our skyrocketing inflation, increasing unemployment, the no longer mentioned lack of Chinese tourists, or the exodus of foreign investments.If you’re green-leaning, then it’s a case of putting the blame on A-bian to take focus off the KMT’s incompetence.
A-bian’s detention will most definitely affect the public sentiment, that’s why he’s been detained.Fragmentation of Taiwan’s public has always been one of the goals of the Chinese KMT and the Chinese Communist Party.If Taiwan stays polarized, then it’s easier for the KMT and the CCP to manipulate the Taiwanese public.The last thing the KMT or the CCP want is to see the Taiwanese people united standing together with one collective voice.And why are the Chinese scared of this?Because what Taiwanese people want to say is surely not what they Chinese want to hear, just look at the reactions of Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) and Chen Yunlin.
Some argued that the Ma administration are making Chen out to be a sacrificial lamb as an apologetic offering to Beijing for Chen Yunlin’s eventful visit.However, others believe Chen deserves imprisonment?What is your take on it?
Does Chen’s detainment have anything to do with China?It most definitely does.I mean, just look at the news in China.With all that happens in Taiwan day in and day out, is any of it really newsworthy in China?No way.But as soon as Chen was detained, the Chinese propaganda machine was turned on full speed.They even referred to A-bian as, the former “local area leader” as they ran their story, sorry, propaganda.China actually thinks that as long as they don’t acknowledge the president of Taiwan that he does not exist.The Chinese government still thinks that if you don’t see or hear the opposing viewpoint, than it doesn’t exist.Huh?How can Taiwan’s future possibly lay with a Chinese government as backwards as this?
Do I think A-bian deserves imprisonment?No, but part of me thinks that he should just the serve time no matter if he’s guilty or not, just so the KMT-loving media won’t be able to use A-bian as the cause for all Taiwan’s current problems.With A-bian behind bars, all those blue TV news stations and newspapers will have to start doing something they haven’t done in a long time, report the news.
Do you believe Chen would get a fair trial?Do you think his plight was politically motivated like he claims?
Chen has about as much of a chance of getting a fair trial in Taiwan’s blue leaning judicial system, as a black person had of having a fair trial in the beginning of the civil rights struggle in the 1960’s in the US.I think it would be safe to say that we will probably find the cure for cancer before we will ever see Chen Suibian get a fair trial in Taiwan.
In Taiwan, politics is everywhere. Whether or not you want to admit to that is a totally different matter all together. Every single TV news channel and newspaper in Taiwan is politically biased and motivated. It's only a question of which way they are leaning towards. As Ma Ying Jeou continues to sell this country out to China piece by piece, shifting the focus on to A-bian is the perfect decoy. How could A-bian's detainment not be politcally motivated? The DPP are hardly even represented, let alone given the power to make any significant decisions now in Taiwan. The KMT have control of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Taiwan's current problems and power to solve them lie in their hands, not in A-bian's handcuffs.
Last week, Taiwan was a free country where the human right to free speech and protest were respected. This week, police brutality, unseen since the days of martial law (白色恐怖), has been unleashed upon the citizens of Taiwan on direct orders from Ma YingJeou's (馬英九) administration in order to shield Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) from the voice of the Taiwanese people. As citizens have attempted to exercise the rights given to those in a democratic country, they have been met with authoritarian style brutality. Let me make this clear, having a democracy does not insure peace. When the democracy is threatened, citizens need to stand up and be heard. This week, tens of thousands took to the streets to let this world know that Taiwan is not a part of China, regardless of how much barbwire or how many police stood in their way.
One of the most disturbing events that transpired this week occurred on Wednesday night (11/5/08) at the Sunrise record store located near the Ambassador hotel where Chen Yunlin was having dinner with two-time presidential loser, Lien Chan (連戰). As protestors attempted to protest, they were forced away from the hotel by police. They approached the Sunrise record store that happened to be playing an old Taiwanese song (戀戀北迴線) loudly over their speakers, which last I checked was not against the law. Numerous TV news footage show uniformed and undercover police quickly enter the store, immediately stop the music, and then proceed to close the shop, with no warrant while hundreds of angry citizens demanded an explanation. The store owner, Chang Pi (張碧), was injured by the police and her store damaged during the incident.
So what was the official explanation given by this lame duck government? National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) actually said the reason was that the store violated the Noise Control Act (噪音管制法). In other words, just because the music was too loud, Taipei City Police Department Beitou District head Lee Han-ching (李漢卿) had no choice except to throw out all laws concerning freedom of speech and close down a privately owned records store by force. Lee actually said with a straight face that he did not hear what type of music was being played and that he will not apologize for the incident. Did Lee forget the dozens of TV news cameras that broadcast the entire incident nationwide? The one and only reason the music was shut off and the store closed was because the music that was playing was in Taiwanese. What would have happened if the store was playing Chinese, Japanese, or Spanish songs instead? Nothing.
And all this backwardness was for what purpose? To create an illusion for Chen Yunlin and his precious little eyes and ears? Chen Yunlin does not even understand Taiwanese (Aboriginal, Hakka, or Hoklo). What could possibly go wrong if he hears a Taiwanese song? I mean, he even watched the Taiwanese blockbuster movie, Cape No. 7 (海角七號), where they speak and sing in Taiwanese throughout the film. Or did Chen watch a special edited version of Cape No. 7 (Chinese edition, No Taiwanese)?
The point I'm trying to make here is this, the democratic rights that we enjoy here in Taiwan are in grave jeopardy. Just two weeks ago, citizens could wave any flag they pleased in public. Less than a month ago, for the 10/10 celebration the KMT littered the whole of Taipei in R.O.C. flags. But as soon as Chen Yunlin arrived, no R.O.C. flag or Tibetan flag was allowed to be displayed anywhere that Chen Yunlin was scheduled to be. As citizens tried to peacefully express their opinions through the only means they had their bodies and their voices they were met with extreme police brutality. So now there is Taiwanese police beating on Taiwanese citizens for what? So that Ma Ying Jeou can help some Chinese Communist official save some face. The Taiwanese people will not sit idly by as our rights are trampled on by this China loving administration.
So after all the police and all the media hype, Ma Ying Jeou must have had so much to say to Chen Yunlin, too bad he only got seven minutes to talk to him. And after all the guessing as to whether Chen Yunlin would address Ma as president or mister, Chen decided to just use the noun, "you," too bad for "you."
