13 Sept 2006

Hey, it's time to step down!

Starting from Saturday 9/10, people in Taiwan start writing a new page in the history of Taiwan's democratic progression. What we are aiming at is to bring down the corrupted government led by Chen shui-bian. This is not a violent protest but a silent rally that means to voice our opinion: Chen Shui-bian, it is time to step down.

This rally has been in process for almost a week, and it has become the hottest topic for the public in Taiwan. All the media reports this rally in detail everyday. Every one talks about this rally everyday. It is so obvious that you cannot simply miss or ignore it. We speak out what we want in an honest but solid sense: Chen Shui-bian, you should and must step down.

Chen Shui-bian always says he is the president who is elected by the public of Taiwan, so his leadership is what the public of Taiwan wants. I am not going to question the legitimacy of that second presidential election. When the public chooses him, it means they want him to lead them to better lives. In other words, he should always listen to them with care and good grace. However, it seems that he never really listens to the public. He only cares about his own power and his family's wealth. The suffering of the public is not an issue for him, let alone the development of the country. Taiwan, under his leadership, has become a patient who suffers great pain from cancer. He still doesn't care; he still insists that he is the right one for Taiwan.

Has he heard what the public wants? Doesn't the public of Taiwan show what they really want now right in front of his presidential house? He simply cannot accept that he is no longer the right one for Taiwan, and he simply cannot release his power easily. Power corrupts human minds as Lord John Acton pronounced
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Due to the nature of power, Chen Shui-bian would never agree to step down. Moreover, his family and him are rumored to have been involved in frauds and are under investigations. If he agrees to step down, and if what has been investigated is truly illegal, he would be prosecuted immediately. Therefore, it is unlikely that he would step down of his own free will.

I agree that forcing him to step down is a tough task to accomplish, but let us not forget the power of people. As one Chinese saying goes "Water can float a boat and sink it as well", the power of people is like water, and when the surge comes, it can in fact overthrow the unstable and unsupported government. This requires the participation of each individual who shares the same idea in the society. This gathered group of people would form a positive energy that aims to discharge the power of the inappropriate leader, and this energy is an organic form that it grows when the group expands. This is a grassroots ideology whose achievement calls for persistence.

Indeed, we have made the first move to gather people up, and we are seeing the persistence in this rally. Though I am not there in person to support this action, I am here supporting them by writing up my ideas, chatting over coffee with friends, educating new generations. I am truly hoping this rally will go on, and finally we will reach what we hope for. We should not allow Chen Shui-bian to damage the image of Taiwan and ignore the suffering of the public in Taiwan anymore. We all have the right to speak out what we truly want, and let us all take our chance to say: Hey you, it's time to step down.

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