Sunday, March 21, 2004
Conundrum...
OK, we all remember the whole Spain thing. People who wanted the Iraq war courageously repudiated pointed out that Zapatero's election was obviously not a cave-in to terrorism, and only right-wing fools would think so. Said right-wing fools pointed out that the sudden disappearance of the Popular Party's lead could only be explained by a capitulation to terrorism, and anyone who thought so was an appeaser or had their head in the sand.
Both sides would like to make it clear that their interpretations of events in Spain is the result of fair, dispassionate analysis of all arguments, and not cramming facts into a previously cemented worldview.
I bring this up, because it happened in reverse in Taiwan.
At least it was in reverse for me personally. I like Chen Shui-Bien, and admire what he's trying to do in Taiwan. That said, I can't vote in Taiwan, and apparently the people who can were planning on getting rid of him. Then he gets shot. Suddenly, Lien Chan's lead vanished, and Chen wins.
In other words, an intervening act of violence may have affected the results of a democratic election. Sound familiar?
There are still questions surrounding the shooting of Chen, including the claim that he staged it himself. China, who hates Chen, is another obvious suspect.
I'm posting this before I take my regular lap through the blogosphere, so I'm sure I'm about to learn something that'll affect my take on things. At present, I don't have a firm one. As I like Chen, I'm glad he's still in charge...but some things are more important than the result of any single election, like the integrity of the process. I don't know what effect the shooting had on the process, but people who like the result shouldn't brush off the very real concerns this raises.
OK, we all remember the whole Spain thing. People who wanted the Iraq war courageously repudiated pointed out that Zapatero's election was obviously not a cave-in to terrorism, and only right-wing fools would think so. Said right-wing fools pointed out that the sudden disappearance of the Popular Party's lead could only be explained by a capitulation to terrorism, and anyone who thought so was an appeaser or had their head in the sand.
Both sides would like to make it clear that their interpretations of events in Spain is the result of fair, dispassionate analysis of all arguments, and not cramming facts into a previously cemented worldview.
I bring this up, because it happened in reverse in Taiwan.
At least it was in reverse for me personally. I like Chen Shui-Bien, and admire what he's trying to do in Taiwan. That said, I can't vote in Taiwan, and apparently the people who can were planning on getting rid of him. Then he gets shot. Suddenly, Lien Chan's lead vanished, and Chen wins.
In other words, an intervening act of violence may have affected the results of a democratic election. Sound familiar?
There are still questions surrounding the shooting of Chen, including the claim that he staged it himself. China, who hates Chen, is another obvious suspect.
I'm posting this before I take my regular lap through the blogosphere, so I'm sure I'm about to learn something that'll affect my take on things. At present, I don't have a firm one. As I like Chen, I'm glad he's still in charge...but some things are more important than the result of any single election, like the integrity of the process. I don't know what effect the shooting had on the process, but people who like the result shouldn't brush off the very real concerns this raises.
