From today’s Taipei Times: [quote]Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday accused the nation’s representative to Japan, John Feng (馮寄台), of “humiliating Taiwanese” with the publication of an article in Japan accusing Taiwanese of behaving badly when taking part in protests.[/quote]
Describing two assemblies of Taiwanese in the U.S. during a 2001 visit by Chen Shui-bian, one side for and one against, Feng apparently wrote:
Apparently Feng went on to write: [quote]"Heavy police power is often necessary to maintain order during rallies [in Taiwan], and [police] need to form a human wall to prevent protesters from entering prohibited areas,” DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) read from the article. “Protesters ignore the government’s power and the law. They throw eggs and attack one another with sticks during demonstrations. Police are often victims in these demonstrations.”[/quote]
According to the article, Feng concluded: [quote]that Taiwanese and Chinese people become law-abiding citizens when they are in the US, obeying the administrative power and enjoying democracy.[/quote]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that:
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) wants the Control Yuan to investigate Feng for possible breach of the law, and DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) wants MOFA to fire him.
What a thing to raise a stink about! And Huang and Kuan don’t seem to realize that their behavior is just a variation on the theme that Feng’s article was really about.
About the politics here, I’m getting more like sandman every day.