From Today’s Taipeitimes:[quote]Likening Chen to a despotic emperor, Emperor Chou (紂王) of the Shang Dynasty, and Yuan Shih-kai (袁世凱), a warlord in the early 1900s who overthrew the Republic of China and declared himself emperor, PFP legislator Thomas Lee (李桐豪) encouraged the public to “shoot President Chen dead” if they run into him.[/quote]
Did I read this incorrectly? Was this a misquote by the TaipeiTimes? Did this guy actually say we should shoot President Chen dead if we run into him? Anyone read this at another source?
What would happen if someone turned that around and said that we should shoot Pan-Blue legislator Thomas Lee dead if we run into him, or better yet, say that we should hunt him down and dismember him in the street?
The things we have to put up with lately are disgusting! To think that Pan-Blues consider themselves the more experienced and professional political party. Keep it up Blues, you are digging your own grave. Perhaps we should rejoice that their time is near?!
I don’t know why, exactly, but I can’t help but feel that “we” are being far too optimistic about the inevitable demise of the KMT. Hoisted by their own petard? Maybe. But watch the reaction to this latest statement…the guy is coming out and calling for the assasination of the president (if that is in fact what he really said. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was)…but will anything happen to him? Will be be put on trial for treason? Or even put on trial just for threatening another citizen? I doubt it. Will anyone take to the airwaves or the streets to denounce him? Probably not. There’ll be a few outraged responses and some suits filed that will either be thrown out, amount to nothing or take 4 years to process…at the end of the day…nothing. And so it goes. On and on and on. The rhetoric gets more and more sinister and violent and, it seems, people get more and more desensitized to it. I don’t know. Maybe this latest bit of inhuman bile has pushed me over the edge into despair. Anyone care to throw out some reasons for NOT feeling hopeless? Or is it still early days? :help:
Of course not a word of condemnation from the pan-Blue media. What are they editorializing on instead? They’re demanding that the DDP scale down the inauguration festivities so as not to “provoke” the pan-Blues.
Sometimes it feels like the Earth is spinning backwards.
Argh! Amazing. I can foresee a pretty powerful TV commercial for the DPP with images of the Pan-Blue riots and soundbites from Pan-Blue legislators saying things like Thomas Lee said yesterday. Foreboding music in the background trying to scare people into not voting Blue again lest the country get taken over by these types of people.
The pan-Blue media, in their ever glowing coverage of the circus at CKS Temple last week, made sure they never showed the signs that were calling for an “autopsy” of Chen’s gunshot wound.
I too was stunned by this, andthought it must be a TT misquote, but if what SCL quoted is right, then no, this man actually called for people to assassinate the president of the country. Legislative immunity or not, this amounts to treason by any deifinition. I’m amazed that a bigger deal hasn’t been made of this.
I agree Brian, legislative immunity shouldn’t make any difference. Encouraging the assasination of a president, especially given the wacko climate in Taiwan at present, should definitely be a criminal act as it could easily lead to fruition. It certainly would be illegal in the US and I would hope the idiot would be thrown in jail for it. In fact, I feel that Soong, Lien and other blue lawbreakers have repeatedly made statements actively inciting violence and lawbreaking, which should be punishable by jail sentences.
But of course things are too delicate here now. While they rightfully ought to be imprisoned for such remarks, imposing such legitimate punishment on them could have serious negative repercussions, because they’d be seen as martyrs by the yahoos on Ketagalan ave and rioting would ensue.
If you want a little more context: the pan-Blue legislators were angry because none of the Cabinet members showed up for questioning. Hence the talk that Chen had made himself emperor, had stolen the nation, was dissing the Legislature, and that it was “do or die” time for the Legislature to take on Chen, etc.
His exact words: “He [Chen] who thieves the nation is the greatest thief; can I request that any citizen who sees Chen shoot him dead.”
What he really meant, he says by apology, is “anyone who comes across Chen should shoot him the evil eye, just look at him with an angry cold stare. I never meant to really mean that anyone should assassinate the president. Do you really think I am that stupid or low-class? I was just using poetic stage language, get over it…”
i don’t even want to talk about this cos i swore i was taking up macrame…but this is what i’ve been going on about for weeks; these people are out of control…hand me that baseball bat matthew i’m going to battle (just kidding…back to the macrame now)
I think one needs to get use to the language used on Taiwan. Since the politician are directly elected and not protected by an educated buffer like an electorial college. They must use language to sway the people of ROC.
Not saying the education level in ROC is terrible. But on some level there are still a great many voters in ROC that lived through the Japanese occupation. When you here language like “shut your mouth” and other nonsense language it is usually pandering to these voters with limited education.
[quote=“ac_dropout_unban”]
Not saying the education level in ROC is terrible. But on some level there are still a great many voters in ROC that lived through the Japanese occupation. When you here language like “shut your mouth” and other nonsense language it is usually pandering to these voters with limited education.[/quote]
Who is it pandering to when people say shoot the president? cream of taiwan i suppose.
Hmmm, AC. The politician in question is a PFP guy, and his core electorage are not really people who was here when the Japanese was here, most came over in 1949. There’s no excuse for inciting to violence or shootings. While I support free speech - don’t we all here - but there’s certainly no way threat of murder should make it into respectable political language. His avenues for espressing his non-threatening opinions are more than adequate, no reason to incite to violence.
If you hear that statement in context and in the backdrop of the type of statesman language in Taiwan it makes perfect sense. Politician say “shut up” and fist fight all the time in Taiwan.
Mr He,
If the people on Taiwan would brush on their Mandarin and Idiomatic statements I’m sure their would be no need to make these infinitle use of language on the island. Have you ever compared CCP language to the ones use by DDP and KMT. It’s like listening to the College Educated vs. Kindergardeners. I don’t agree with what CCP states all the time. But their use of language is flawless.
If you hear that statement in context and in the backdrop of the type of statesman language in Taiwan it makes perfect sense. Politician say “shut up” and fist fight all the time in Taiwan.
Mr He,
If the people on Taiwan would brush on their Mandarin and Idiomatic statements I’m sure their would be no need to make these infinitle use of language on the island. Have you ever compared CCP language to the ones use by DDP and KMT. It’s like listening to the College Educated vs. Kindergardeners. I don’t agree with what CCP states all the time. But their use of language is flawless.[/quote]
Who cares what their language is like. Gee i’m getting shafted, but their language is so nice.
Poor Mandarin does not translate into a justification for asking people to shoot the president, or anyone for that matter. The legislator in question obviously lacks basic human decency.
