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No place for groveling or praying in
democracy
By James Wang 王景弘
Friday, Aug 06, 2010, Page 8
Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) accompanied the
victims of pollution caused by recent fires at Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s
Sixth Naphtha Cracker in Mailiao Township (麥寮) when they staged a protest in
the capital a few days ago.
The demonstrators got down on their knees outside the Executive Yuan, with the
fierce sun beating down, and waited for some kind of official response.
Unfortunately for them, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), the one man who has the power
to do something about their complaint and who has said on numerous occasions he
stands on the side of the common people, did not even deign to show his face.
Then there was Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), currently campaigning for the
position of mayor of Greater Taichung, just back from a trip to Southeast Asia.
The very night he returned, Hu rushed over to the City God temple where,
according to official records, he wished the resident deity a happy birthday.
While he was there, he also prayed for help in solving the killing of alleged
gangster Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠).
The protest succeeded in highlighting the callous arrogance of President Ma
Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, which enjoys government power but seemingly
does not understand that its role is to look out for the public. Democracy is
not about begging, however; it is about having the legitimate right to demand
responsible government and accountability. Groveling is a legacy of China’s
feudal, imperial past, and has no place in the age of modern democracy.
The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has devastated the livelihoods of local
fishermen and women. The victims of the spill came out fighting, demanding
compensation and sued. BP accepted it was at fault, setting aside US$38 billion
for compensation claims and saw to it that negligent executives were replaced.
The US government then ordered an oil well safety review and suspended any new
offshore drilling projects. This is what is meant by democracy and
responsibility.
Corporate arrogance and irresponsibility are only possible when arrogance and
irresponsibility in government are widespread and tolerated.
Hu has the police and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment at his disposal,
but still hasn’t been able to get to the bottom of the homicide. At a loss, he
goes to beg for help from a wooden idol, asking it to intervene on his behalf.
It was, to be honest, a bit of a spectacle and a resounding fall from grace for
Hu.
Seeking help from the gods in public affairs is ridiculous. Granted, in the US
politicians make frequent references to God in their rhetoric, but when did you
last hear the mayor of New York calling on God to come and have a look at the
city accounts, sort out the budget deficit or crack any unsolved homicides for
him?
If the city god really can intervene, why not have it get rid of corruption, or
even arrange for peace on Earth? If running a city required the help of a wooden
idol or mystical deities, we wouldn’t need a mayor, we would need a high priest
instead; at least he would hold the incense properly and know what incantations
to use to communicate with the other side.
Hu studied at Oxford University. Once he aspired to the heights of academic
achievementp; now he is reduced to appealing for help from the city god. How do
we respond to that?
We need to set democracy and politics in Taiwan back on the right track. Enough
of the groveling and praying. Please.
James Wang is a journalist based in Washington.
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