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"Pay close attention to that man behind the curtain!"

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Deep thoughts, May 18, 2008

Forward to the distant past

Given the authoritarian background of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), what should we expect during the presidential inauguration of their candidate, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) just two days from now (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)?

First of all, we probably won't hear too much about his party's "love" for Taiwan, there probably won't be any pro-green performers, and I'm pretty sure there won't be any big-name pan-green politicians suggesting that it's okay to [do something terrible to] the new president.

But what will we see and hear?

Will we hear chants of "Long live the Great Ma Ying-jeou" and/or "Long live the ROC"? Will there be a speech by Ma calling himself Taiwan's "leader" instead of "president"? Will he suggest de-rectifying the name of the Presidential Office (總統府) to "Long Live Chiang Kai-shek [蔣介石] Hall" (介壽館)?

Or will we witness a game of "remove all the ROC flags from Chinese Taipei"? Will there be talk of "a peace treaty with" (AKA "unification with," "surrender to," or "absorption by") the KMT's "mommyland" (祖國)? Will there be praise for all the "progress" our bellicose neighbor China has made in the last, um, er...? (Better not look back too many days!) Will Ma be introduced by the man of whom he once said he hoped the KMT Youth Corps would produce another like him -- the unelected Chinese leader Hu Jintao (胡錦濤)?

There's also a question that stirs one's curiosity about the maturity of Ma's party and its members: Will KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) get his preferred seat as close as possible to Ma Ying-jeou's lap?

Watch it
If you're here in Taiwan, you'll most likely be able to watch the spectacle on all the news channels -- some of which are more nausea-inducing than others -- but it will also be webcast live on May 20 from 8:30 to 11:45 AM (Taiwan time) at the E-government Entry Point of Taiwan (I can't find a more specific link) and the Taiwan Government Information Office (the link is right at the top of the center column).

Whatever happens, 我快活不下去了啦!!!!!1!!1!
Recondite ruminations: , , , , , , ,

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

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