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Tag: Taiwan
For Enlightenment, Click The “Like” Button
Spotted earlier today on Facebook:
This strikes me as a little mean. KMT presidential contender Hung Hsiu-chu's religion is her religion, and if it brings her comfort during difficult times then I can't find it in myself to belittle her for it.
However…
The mandarins of Taiwan's Kuomintang do like to go on about how Confucian agnosticism is the one and only true path to public policy decision-making. So I eagerly await to hear their sneers now that one of their own has abandoned their central article of faith.
POSTSCRIPT: Hmm, well it looks like what's being satirized here isn't necessarily her religious views per se, but her comparison of herself to a type of Buddhist saint as well as a Buddhist warrior-angel:
“Read [the sutras], pray to a bodhisattva, but also be a bodhisattva,” Hung said. “In the face of Taiwan’s populism and hypocrisy, maybe I should also be a Vajrapani [warrior-attendant to the Buddha] that safeguards virtuous values.”
(Vajrapani image from Photobucket)
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Hung Hsiu-chu Returns Tanned, Rested…
…and ready for a thrashing in Taiwan's January presidential election
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) campaign team yesterday said that Hung would return to her normal schedule today, ending the “temporary break from daily campaign activities” she announced late on Wednesday night.
[…]
[But even] KMT spokesperson Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) mocked [her recent Buddhist-related Facebook] post, saying, without specifically referring to Hung, “[are we going to have] a union of religion and state now?”
Evidence her own party has stopped lampooning her behind her back, and does it now directly to her face.
Hung Hsiu-chu’s Current Political Position:
“Little Hot Pepper” Can’t Take The Heat
Get thee to a nunnery: KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu goes to ground, placing her ill-fought campaign on hiatus.
When I first heard of Hung's bid, I regarded her warily. She wasn't one of the KMT's heavyweights – but then again, Bill Clinton wasn't a Democratic heavyweight back in '92. And, similar to Clinton, there was something admirable in her willingness to throw her hat into the ring against near-overwhelming odds.
But within a week or two, she astonished everyone by stating that she couldn't rightly say that the Republic of China actually existed.
A baffling admission, from one wishing to be president of that supposedly non-existent country!
Since then, her campaign has descended into a clown show – her 15% approval rating testifies to that. Apparently, a sharp tongue ≠ political smarts.
Look, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the KMT after the misrule of President Ma Ying-jeou. A competent Kuomintang candidate might have managed a close (but face-saving) loss. Who knows what a brilliant one might have done?
If there's any lesson in all of this, it's that competitive party primaries are indispensable for discovering who party nominees truly are. Because had Hung Hsiu-chu been tested in debate with other KMT presidential hopefuls, her gaffes would have been made and pounced upon.
And she would have been quickly winnowed from the field.
Should Hung Hsiu-chu Take The China Post’s Advice And Become Taiwan’s Dictator-For-Life?
I think the living would soon envy the dead:
Long-time observers of Taiwanese politics will note this marks a logical progression from her predecessor's 2012 campaign slogan:
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This Message Is Brought To You By The Chinese Communist Party…And The Committee To Elect Hung Hsiu-chu
He’s a Boticcelli, He’s Keats, He’s Shelly – He’s Ovaltine
Ma’s advisers think he's "The Tops"
Now gifted humans
Like Vincent Youmans
Might think that their praise is bad:
…[Lee Tsung-chi (李總集), one of President Ma Ying-jeou's consiglieres,] criticized former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) for lifting the…restrictions that banned the establishment of new newspapers — which he said led to biased reporting that failed to do Ma justice.
But I've got a notion
(Not to second the motion)
But here is what I'm going to add:
That President Ma's close aides endorse censorship by the former KMT military junta speaks volumes about the character of the man who hired them. His authoritarian bent explains both the dictatorial style of governance he's subjected Taiwanese to over the past 6 years, as well as the source of his latest 70% disapproval rating.
Historian Joe Hung Refutes Historian Joe Hung
"It was [Taiwan Governor] Ch'en Ch'eng who initiated one of the world's most successful land reform programs on April 12, 1949."
— Joe Hung, A History of Taiwan. (2000). p. 261.
"Incidentally, no reform has ever succeeded in Chinese history."
— Joe Hung, "Can Tsai Ing-wen win next year?" The China Post. February 23, 2015.
At least ONE of them is lying. But is it Joe Hung, or is it…Joe Hung?
Lien Chan Rises From The Political Grave, Drives Stake Through The Heart Of His Own Son’s Electoral Campaign
We always hurt the ones we love:
While most pundits thought [KMT politician Alex] Tsai originated several negative campaign tactics that are thought to have been a top factor in [Sean] Lien’s loss [in Taipei's mayoral race], a Lien campaign official yesterday said that the strategy originated with Lien’s father, former vice president and former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰).
The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that surveys conducted for internal use only suggested that Sean Lien would lose to Ko by just 10 percent.
“We expected we would lose the election; we just did not expect to lose by this wide a margin,” the official said.
Elsewhere in the news:
Even President Ma Ying-jeou is not immune, with his position as Kuomingtang chairman looking less and less secure by the minute.
If Ma steps down as KMT chairman, may I nominate Chairman Emeritus Lien Chan for a second stab at the job?
Oh, pleasepleaseplease Santa – I don't want much, and I've been awfully good…
POSTSCRIPT: Whut? You mean the Lien family had ulterior motives in having Sean Lien run for the mayorship of Taipei?
Sean Lien’s defeat is not merely a setback for his personal political career: It also severely tarnishes his father’s position and political stature in Taiwan — and in Beijing as well.
Likewise, the special privileges awarded by Chinese [Communist Party] authorities to Lien family businesses could be revoked or reduced in due time.
But, but – the China Post assured us that Sean Lien wasn't in it for the money. He was only seeking to become mayor out of a deep sense of altruism and commitment to public service for the people of Taipei. They gave us their WORD!
This is my shocked face.