Brian,
Bare with me because I am really going to rant a lot this time. I feel really sadden by the fact that so many people can’t see the kinds of shits that’s going on here, and the tactic that’s used against us in general. People really has to wake up and realize what is going on.
Can’t you tell right away what kinds of shits this is? Under the KMT era, the educational mentality was that the teachers are always right, the authorities are always right, they will teach you how to obey. Now, if I did something, and there is nothing wrong with what I did, nor do I feel wrong about it. But if the teachers objected it, they will tell you to write a repenting letter, stating that you’re wrong and that you regreted with what you did. If you do not agree, then they will punish you. So in the end, you have to write that letter, because you have to obey to their higher authority, even if you are right and they are wrong. You lean to accept the fact that you can not object to their opinions publicly, even if you do not agree. If you insist on objecting, they will even use all kinds of humiliating tatics, to shame you in public, using the peer pressure against you, to make you feel ashamed and guilty. Some people will even start feeling ashamed of themselves, as thinking that they really did something wrong, therefore deserving the humiliations. Now they will be really afraid of doing it again.
The PRC government uses the same thing against their own citizens. They have the entire political machine that controls a whole country, against a few dissenting voices. Now, since some of them got punished so severely, it really messed up their mind and also the minds of the people in the rest of the country. Simply put, they were so traumatized like a child that they don’t know how to react. So many started questioning themselves, maybe we were wrong, maybe we were too radical and unrealistic in our demands during the 1989 protests. Maybe we shouldn’t had done it. Those who would not directly involved can suffer the same type of traumatization, because during their mental recovering period, the informations they received are all partial and twisted, they just don’t know what to believe. Especially the younger generations I suppose. They will really think that those students were wrong, and the government were right and did what it had to do. Or they will simply focus their attention on something else to avoid thinking about it. They will actually starting to believe in the bullshits such as, democracy second, freedom second, economic development first. Then, they started to agree with the government that, democracy is really “not” that good for China right now, or just not good at all.
Now, the PRC is trying to these tactics as part of their effort of the ‘unification war’, to extend these kinds of mentalities once again back to Taiwan. But because our democracy and political divide. There’s actually one side who is willing to help out with the news-spinninings. With another side’s (Green) supporters divided in their opinions and reactions. They also knows many other tactics to twist shits around too, to make people confuse, this is how the pro-One-China/Blue media works typically. I really don’t know if you know where I am getting at, or thinking I am crazy like “you gotta be kidding me”, but I believe this is how the Chinese government is trying to affect the public opinions in Taiwan, then the pro-Blue media will help out as a rescuing effort for the party they support. Granted it didn’t work too good before, but their tactic changed over the years due the circumstances, and they are also getting better at it. This is why our country is currently called the ROC - Republic of Confusion.
Now what does all these has to do with A-Mei? This is how she got used, by the Chinese government, as a primary propagganda tool to twist up our value and views. Then she can be used around as to show the people in China that “Hey look, she was innocent and misguided back then (Taidu) but now she repented and is on the correct side.” The problem is that they actually linked Taidu as to singing the national anthem. Which is usually how some propaganda works, by spreading and linking false association together but making people to believe. Now supposedly we have to refute these kinds of logic, but when refuted, there are futher false-associations and twistings, spreading news out of context, which made people confused.
Following the logics of the events.
- She sang the national anthem in 2000
- When she heard that people in China object, she stated that there is nothing wrong with her singing the anthem
- China link her actions (singing the nationa anthem) at President Chen’s inauguration with supporting Taidu
- Immediately banned her as a political statement, to teach people in Taiwan, entertainers and businessmen, a lesson
- Now her management company started to get really worried, and wrote letter of explanation, to explain that she did not support Taidu
- In 2004, many bussinessmen and entertainers started to be very cautious in expressing their view in supporting the Pan-Greens
- In 2004, many pro-Green entertainers were reluctant to attend to or sing at the Presidential Inauguration
- The Chinese government, staged or allowed a student protest in Hangzhou, to make futher statements against the entertainers and bussinessmen, after Chen won the second election back to office.
- Now, she and her management company really started to panic
- She came back to Taiwan, and expressed through her friends that she really doesn’t want to get involved with the strait politics. Her friends also started to explain that she was forced into singing in 2000, that she really opposed to that decision back then but had to reluctantly comply due to the pressure
- China threathened to boycott her Beijin concert, being purposefully ambigious as if the show will be allow to continue or not
So far, we can see which side made an entertainer who has nothing to do with politics into a political target. Since she is now a political target, like how she had been for the last 4 years, she had to make “political” concessions. Which was the interview and other statements or actions. Even if the wording of her interview on China’s state-run CCTV did not sound particularly too political, it is political.
If you had listened to the interview from the above link, you can really tell that it is politically loaded, which was a setup. You have to pay attention to the particular wording that the interviewer had choosen to use.
Transcript of that particular part
主持人： 到了今天是否在長大的張惠妹會突然明白，會告訴自己，有些事能做，有些事不能做，因為你是張惠妹，很特殊？
張惠妹：我也說過，我說我現在變得比較快樂。原因是我覺得很多事情想清楚後，我可以自己去控制。我也聽別人的意見，我可以去消化這些東西，我不會像以前一樣，可能大家決定好什麼，我就只能夠點頭。
主持人：執行
張惠妹：執行
張惠妹： 所以那段時間真的很難熬，可我相信接下來我知道自己該做什麼，也知道我的影響並不只有周遭的人，可能會影響更多的人。在會影響這麼多人的前提之下，你是不是要更謹慎，自己應該做的是什麼。
Now look at how the wordings are carried out, it’s just messed up. For example.
長大的張惠妹 = a grown up A-Mei
突然明白，會告訴自己，有些事能做，有些事不能做 = can all the sudden understand now, that there are somethings that you cannot do.
That’s like a father figure (China) giving a child (Taiwan) a scolding lesson, on their national, state-run television! The question wasn’t meant to be a question, but as a conclusion, and also a lesson. He concluded that A-Mei is grown up now, meaning she wasn’t grown-up back in 2000, therefore didn’t know what she was doing (supporting Taidu?) that she was a confused child (Taiwan?) and knows better now (realized, repented?) of what to and not to do (singing the national anthem/Taidu?).
I am not trying to take no shits out of context, but this is exactly why he asked the question in such a way. It is like saying “you were wrong, and we punished you. Now do you realize your mistakes and repent?”
Then she tried to reply to him with some political correct bulls. But she clearly made a repenting statements to them, on national television, without sounding too obvious of course. That part being "I won’t be like before (as if she did something wrong in 2000?), when everyone made the decisions for me (as if she did not want to sing but was forced too?), and can only nod my head.
Now notice the interviewer particually interrupt her on this part, and corrected her the wording of “nodding her head” to “excuting a command” (執行), since (執行) sounds more like a military command or a government order. Implying that she was forced by Chen’s government, deprived of her personal freedom and against her will to “support Taidu”, although it might not be what she meant. But she followed his lead into that direction, probably by mistake, or maybe else?
Yup, and excatly the reason why VP Lu spoke up. But was she really speaking to A-Mei? Or was she speaking to the people in Taiwan. Doesn’t matter, since the media will immediately twist the stuff up to “VP Lu called out A-Mei to make a stand!” The Purple will immediately jump out and call “DPP’ers are acting like Nazies” The Orange screamed “VP Lu shouldn’t force entertainers to make a political stand”, now the Red of course, will speak too, “Politics shouldn’t interfere with Music”, then their good old brother the Blues yelled “Lu is provoking the Aboriginess, she must apologize.”
Hahaha, so funny, the thing runs wild. Now everyone complains, except they didn’t dare to complain to the real cause of all things. And the cause of all these will complain to us about how we suppressing our entertainers with Taidu agendas? What the fuck?? Do you see where we are going with this? At least don’t freaking report her out of context, as if she was calling her out, when she didn’t. Yes, she was talking about A-Mei, but in fact speaking to other people.
That’s how it works, when someone slap you in the face, you must bow down and accept it gracefully. If you dissent, you’ll be punished futher. If you repent, we’ll give you a candy for a show in Beijin. If someone speak up against these types of shits, she is the trouble maker, and being wrong. If you try to defend for yourself, you’re a disobedient child, and is being wrong again. Then the slapper will say “hey, you now all learn the lessons of what happens to a disobedient child, the rest of you better act like a ‘good’ one, otherwise…hmm…hmm.” “Oh, but if you listen well, you’ll get a candy like her too” “Yummie…”
Tactic #1: Kill the chicken, scare the monkey
Tactic #2: carrot and a stick, accept candies or take a beating
Tactic #3: If I slap you, it is you who is wrong (make up bullshit reasons)
Tactic #4: catch the turtle in a pot, lure you in the traps, then cook you slowly
Tactic #5: points to the black and call it white
Tactic #6: change faces like a flipping book
Tactic #7: say one thing but think the other
Now I guess A-Mei has gotten stuck with tactic 1+2+3, and the Taiwanese businessmen got stuck with 4+6. It’s allrite, no one should speak up.
Another thing about money, some of these concerts are sponsored by the Chinese military officials, they are like coporations you know. Second, when she was asked to help out the flood victims in Taiwan by the Postage office, she requested 10 million NT, which was too expensive and turned down; while another equally famous female entertainer gracefully accepted to help out for free, even used her own money to pay for the production cost such as clothing. A-Mei did host a ‘small’ concert to as a donation to the flood victims, with about 600 attendence, and it is the fan who has to make the personal donation, 1000NT minimal required. Then A-Mei accepted the advertisement deal for Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau, when the tax payer has to pay her tens of millions. Now what kind of example is she trying to set for her fans, and for the Tourism Bureau? Teach people how to have an attitude that “I have money but no country”? Teach people how to kowbow to brutal authorities? What a nice image will our Tourism Bureau get out from here, huh, but I guess it is already under the contract. But still she is always crying.