A New Meaning to Election

I started to view election from another perspective. It is astonishing to see the civil societies today those stress on the rule of law still center themselves around moral debates.

Not mentioning the ongoing patriotism debate in Hong Kong, which is by no mean rational and constructive, cultural war is also heated in the US and Taiwan. Last issue of The Economist features the proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage by Bush, a strategy before the election to consolidate the conservative constituency. It came as a surprise to me as the US has been a country that is so proud of its democracy and liberty, where every citizen should have equal rights before the law. Years after advocating the rights for homosexuals, if the legislation is to be passed in the future, the US, as a secular state, is telling the world that gays should stay in the closet. Who is Mr. Bush to jeopardize the rights of hundreds of thousands of people in the country? If winning the presidency means having the deprive some people merely because they are not supporters, this democracy is very backward.

Under Taiwan’s notoriously corrupted yet democratic election system, the Pan-Green camp has been stirring up ethnic conflicts to polarize voters. “If you are Taiwanese, you should be pro-independence.” What a dirty spam being put on by the election campaign, betting with all the lives on the island. Both Mr. Chen and former president Mr. Lee have poured an unreasonable sum of money into the island's diplomacy and defense, leaving the unemployment rate souring at home. How much do they really care about Taiwan people? They, to me, are as evil as Hitler, who tried to turn Germany into his ideal utilizing various means of political tool.

On a RTHK program tonight, the same story is covered. In Indonesia, the dominating party is trying to suppress Muslim, a minority in the country, in the name of anti-terrorism to win more ballots at the coming election.

Maybe, election today has a different meaning. It not longer symbolizes democracy, but legitimated fascism.