“Thank you, Dalai Lama”
Anonymous officials in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have voiced concerns that the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China may have to be postponed — the implication being that the postponement is a result of the Chinese leadership’s displeasure at the Dalai Lama’s visit to Taiwan. If this is true, as a Taiwanese, I would like to thank the Dalai Lama for this, on top of my profound gratitude for his unwavering compassion and loving kindness toward the victims of Typhoon Morakot who suffered from devastating floods and the Ma administration’s disastrous relief efforts.
This externality of the Dalai Lama’s visit is literally a god-send for Taiwanese, who have lost almost all checks and balances against the Ma administration’s abuse of power after his party won an absolute majority in the legislature last year. After losing faith in the often-dysfunctional judiciary, the opposition launched a campaign for a referendum to stop the administration from imposing an ECFA on the public, to whom the administration had not bothered to explain honestly and clearly the content and effects of the agreement. Unfortunately, the referendum proposal has been turned down by the administration’s Referendum Review Committee because the proposal “was not clear enough and asks the public to vote on something that has not yet happened.”
There have been numerous commentaries on the absurdity of this decision. That aside, it’s widely expected that, short of extraordinary measures, any appeals within the current system — now tightly controlled by the KMT, whose top leadership have been trying hard to placate China — will not likely succeed.
Just when the 150,000 people who signed the referendum proposal and others who have cast doubt on Ma’s leadership and competence were in a state of disbelief and despair, the news of a likely postponement of an ECFA came as a much needed source of relief, even though it may be more temporary than we would like given how reckless the Ma administration has been on the economy and national security.
Dear Dalai Lama, thank you for your wonderful gift to Taiwan. You more than achieved the goal of comforting the victims of Typhoon Morakot, which you set out to do on the trip. Your deep concern for Taiwan is heartfelt; your wisdom and compassion have touched and inspired many; and you’ve reminded us how precious our democratic values are. You have successfully brought the Taiwanese together. With this spirit, we are better warriors defending humanity and our rights as citizens of this country.
