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The KMT ignores law of nature at flora
expo
By James Wang 王景弘
Spending NT$15 billion (US$484 million) to put on the Taipei International Flora
Expo over autumn and winter will be as much a battle with the heavens as it is
against the laws of nature. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Taipei Mayor Hau
Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who are so out of touch with reality that they think wasting
public funds is a sign of capability, are calling on people not to curse the
flora expo. That’s fine, the expo will meet an early demise even without any
cursing.
In the political practice of the old Chinese imperial court, a trick called “a
vine uses a tree to climb upward” was a commonly used strategy to get ahead in
court. Vines are thin and weak and must attach themselves to a large tree to
climb to higher levels. The expo organizers have used the same approach. Because
they were worried that holding the expo over autumn and winter would excite
little interest among the public, they had to come up with other ideas to
attract people. That’s how the Celebrity’s House came about. The memorabilia
showcased there belonged to deceased singer Teresa Teng (鄧麗君) and have
supposedly attracted many visitors.
While using Teng to attract more people is a smart move, it is also the ultimate
irony: Teng really does sing the demise of the expo. Former paramount Chinese
leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) is said to have gotten all weak in the knees when he
heard her sing Beautiful Flowers do not Often Bloom. It is highly unlikely that
the organizers of the Teng exhibition have never heard that song.
“Beautiful flowers” that do not often bloom, bloom in spring, not autumn or
winter. The tree peony, a favorite flower of the Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager Ci
Xi (慈禧太后), only blooms once a year, during springtime. The tulip is another
flower that is at its best in spring. Kunming in China is reputed to have
spring-like weather all year round, but the Kunming International Flower
Exhibition only runs from spring to the end of summer.
It is a law of nature that we associate flowers with spring. There are many
ancient Chinese idioms that associate flowers with springtime. In Taiwan “Spring
Flower” is a common female name — nobody is called “Winter Flower.”
The KMT of course had ulterior motives in wasting a lot of public funds on
holding a flower exhibition during the cold and rainy autumn season, rather than
on a lot of construction. Using public funds to maintain a hold on power is a
trick the KMT has often used in the past.
The organizing authorities have done a lot of advertising to promote the view
that the expo will help raise Taiwan’s international profile. However, the Ma
administration accepts the “one China” principle and believes that China and
Taiwan are both Chinese territory, so what is the point of raising Taiwan’s
international status?
Despite the weak economy and public hardship, the KMT is thinking only of itself
as it spends huge sums of money on the expo. This shows just how much the KMT’s
political hacks are out of touch with Taipei residents, with government policy
and with nature. I don’t think it would be wise of Hau and the expo to play
Teng’s famous song When Will You Return? at the exhibit. That would be too
embarrassing for Hau.
James Wang is a media commentator.
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