Translation of a Sep. 8 Facebook post by Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱). She’s posted 7 nights in a row, ever since declaring her sabbatical, and her campaign should change her password because I suspect she’s using the account to get around editing and moderation.



Yesterday, UDN’s print edition discussed a seminar celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Lee and Li Law Attorneys-at-Law. The industry, government, and academic figures in attendance discussed two things the most. One was Taiwan having already lost the ambition to be open and only wanting to close itself off to seek small, certain happinesses. The other was that the use of populism to govern the country has killed Taiwan. It looks like I’m truly not the only one talking about this phenomenon. It’s already something anyone worried about Taiwan’s future!

Governing the country through populism: The final, most extreme example of this is obviously the Nazis. The Nazis ceaselessly created enemies within the country to control the entire society. Think about it: Although Taiwan isn’t that extreme, isn’t our situation like that? It’s like that classic saying: “When the Nazis were killing the Communist Party, I wasn’t in the Communist Party, so I said nothing. [S.tw: Her quoting of this line me wonder, by the way, does Taiwanese people’s antipathy for the Communist Party of China bother Hung and strike her as evil antagonism?] When Nazis killed the Jews, I wasn’t a Jew, so I said nothing. When the Nazis killed the Catholics, I was a Protestant, so I said nothing. When the Nazis arrested me, there was no one there to speak for me.” Isn’t this kind of scene a little familiar to us?

When soldiers are bullied by populism, we aren’t soldiers, so we don’t speak. When teachers are bullied by populism, we’re not teachers, so we don’t speak for them, either. When civil servants are bullied by populism, we aren’t civil servants, so we don’t speak for them, either. But don’t you worry that on the day when you’re bullied, there will be no one to speak for you?

There’s no shortcut to resisting populism. The people in society who are willing to listen to reason can only choose to stop being a silent majority. If only we join together and refuse to be incited together, if we refuse to be maliciously manipulated, if we are willing to spend a little energy to understand and analyze public affairs, populism will have no room to manipulate. So I’m thinking, can’t we open our Facebooks and turn them into communication platforms for everyone, and all come together to discuss what public affairs have been distorted by the populist atmosphere, and then through our analysis find a new road to resolution?



Chairman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), in response to my reflections after my meditation, saiid, “Taiwan is definitely sick, but what’s sick isn’t its citizens; it’s its government. So it believes that the best way to improve its situation is a change of ruling parties.”

I truly hope that Chairman Tsai is able to see Taiwan’s problems. If we define the election by which party wins and which loses, can it truly resolve our problems? We’ve already changed ruling parties before and had different presidents. So why are our country’s problems more and more serious? [S.tw: I’m not sure she believes in the utility of elections.] I agree that Taiwan should change, and it should turns itself around, but what we must change and turn around is the populism that is swallowing up Taiwanese people’s hearts! If we don’t see the real problem, we politicians are no more than a pack of selfish careerists who only know about power and benefits! [S.tw: “Like you?” my wife asked.]

We truly have already fully felt the threat of populist government against our country. We will together make this election an opportunity to turn our country around. Won’t this make this election more clearly show its valuable significance?

I am willing to do this, and I sincerely invite you to join me in making Taiwan able to change!