|
More work needed
Monday, Aug 02, 2010, Page 8
In its latest issue (July/August 2010), Monocle’s short piece on Taichung Mayor
Jason Hu (胡志強) reads like a clumsy product placement ad and very few of the
praises ring true (“Magazine names Hu among world’s top 10 mayors,” July 29,
page 3).
The coverage rate of Taichung City’s sewage system comes last among Taiwan’s
five largest cities, which has resulted in the pollution of at least three of
the city’s headwaters. In office for nine years, Hu has failed to solve this
fundamental water resource problem, let alone develop any “large-scale
infrastructure.”
He has achievedc even less in the field of economic development. The city’s
unemployment rate hit a record 5.9 percent last year and also ranked highest in
the five major cities.
Hu’s complacency about turning Taichung into a place where “culture permeates
all levels of society” sounds justifiable only if the culture he refers to is of
the sexual and criminal variety. Figurines modeled on porn comics are accessible
to kids in night markets. The city’s landscape features a plethora of illegal
drinking establishments and “love motels.”
Taichung is also a paradise for outlaws and the favorite city for mobsters to
settle scores (ie, gang shootings). Inviting consummate cultural icons like
Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) and Yo-Yo Ma (馬友友) to visit is just frosting used to powder
over Hu’s incompetence.
What’s most ironic about Monocle’s piece is that it says Hu’s “success” lies in
his crackdown on crime. He has made innumerable vows to fight but none of them
have had any noticeable effect. On May 28, there was a daytime shooting in
downtown Taichung that led to the death of alleged gangster Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠).
Daylight gunfights among elements of the underworld are not unusual in Taichung,
but reports later revealed that four police officers were at the scene of this
particular killing and two of them are now suspected of being connected to
gangsters.
This incident made Hu a national disgrace, compelling him to once again declare
war on organized crime. Two months later, the case is still bogged down because
police involvement has not been ruled out and the public believes the case is
getting nowhere.
Despite being a daily reader of news, I have no recollection of Hu’s supporters
ever suggesting he might run for the presidency. He has never been so impressive
that anyone would risk such a venture and thus he will never experience the
“challenge” of running a country.
Monocle’s short piece on Hu reads either like mock journalism, acclaiming what
are actually the mayor’s deficiencies as strengths, or perhaps a marketing
campaign the writer was paid to contrive. It is surprising to discover that the
coverage in an acclaimed magazine can be so completely different to the reality
on the ground.
Tommy Yen
Taipei
|
