我不是 FAPA 的 Echo Lin

最近幾天，在幾個台灣人的 email 聯絡網上發生的一些事，很可能因為我的網名「Echo」而對 FAPA 的 Echo Lin 造成困擾，因此不得不在此提出澄清。

我不是 Fapa 的 Echo Lin. 大概 2002 年前後開始使用 Echo 的筆名在網路筆戰時，我還不知道 Fapa 真有一個人叫 Echo，而且是真名不是筆名。後來變成 「Taiwan Echo」，是因為在許多論壇，Echo 這名字早就被佔用。

我的文章最早可以在海國論壇（公民學院），以及現在的媒抗 （都還是用「Echo」），還有以下的兩個以英文為主的部落格找到：

http://echotaiwan.blogspot.com
http://taiwanmatters.blogspot.com

我對最近這幾天害很多在這幾個聯絡網上的人必須看一些跟我私人有關的言論，甚至一些能理解我的人也必須花時間為我辯解（多謝！），感到非常不安。

我個人是不是被冤枉，其實我一點也不在意，畢竟在網路上論戰這麼多年，這種事我也不是沒見過。但這些時間浪費在我身上，卻是對台灣一點幫助也沒有，這令我非常內疚。

至於那些不去幫助學生抗議卻願意花時間去驚動萬教以誣指我的人，請先做做功課，到網路上拜讀一下我的"大作"，也許會有不同的看法。

總之，我不是 FAPA 的 Echo Lin (他的英文比我的好太多了), 如果因為我的言論造成 FAPA Echo 的困擾，在此深深致歉。

向長官報備 ── 陰魂不散的封建思想

馬英九政府終於呼應野草莓運動學生的要求，舉辦修改集遊法的公聽會，開始有模有樣地進行修改動作。

只是，集遊法由「准許制」改為「報備制」，爭議好像著重在「是不是自願」。另一個個人認為更重要卻完全被忽略，那就是「報備」這兩個字本身所代表的「階級觀念」。

「報備」，就字面上來看，是「報告備察」。

民主時代，政府與檢警，應該都是替人民服務的，沒有人民用選票授與權力，政府與檢警沒有存在的根基。因此人民才是一切權力的主人。

那，既然人民是主人，為什麼人民要表達意見，還要用「報備」這種字眼？

假設有一對主僕兩人，今天主人要外出購物，他會說：「我跟我的僕人『報備』一下」嗎？

當然不會，因為只有你自認為自己是下屬、是僕人、是奴隸，而且認為對方是上司、是主人、是擁有比你更高的階級地位時，你才會使用「報備」的字眼。

因此，不管集遊法最後改成是「自願報備」還是「強制報備」，都表示了，人民還是低階的，警方還是高高在上的。人民必須使用「報備」的姿態，才能行使一點應該有的權力。

這一點階級心態，在這一次「野草莓運動」裡，似乎完全被學生忽略。

另外，當學生一開始在行政院前抗議時，行政院派秘書長薛香川前往溝通。負責轉播的幾個學生，在描述薛秘書長時，似乎習慣性地使用「長官」的字眼。

長官？這不是應該是對你的直屬上司時才會使用的稱呼嗎？什麼時候，一個小小的秘書長，是人民的「直屬上司」了？為什麼就不能直接叫「秘書長」，而必須像個低階小老百姓一樣叫「長官」？是不是這年代的學生，心中還存有那種「把所有政府官員都當作父母官」的封建思想？

可見，台灣仍然脫不出以前威權教育的傳階級觀念。

對於集遊法，也許學生的訴求早已定位在「改為自願報備制」，但筆者仍要提出建議，應該捨棄「報備」字眼，改為「通知制」比較妥當。這也可以使台灣一些姿態跋扈、自認對人民有無上權威的警察一個明示：我們這是「通知你」，不是「向你報備」。

《野草莓學運學生的一些心聲》

昨晚，跟家人同看《野草莓學運學生的一些心聲》，我們無法停止哭泣。

好像看到自己的子女，熱情澎湃，充滿理想，不知道面前就是火山口，只知道勇敢地往前衝。

我們沒有辦法告訴他們，灼傷的疼痛有多劇烈，留下的傷疤又會有多深刻。

我們只能眼睜睜地看著他們，一步一步走向火山口，勇敢地用身體去試探火山的溫度。

因為我們知道，疼痛與傷痕，是無法用言語傳授、耳朵傾聽的，只有當自己肌膚與肉體被灼傷的時候，才能深深烙印在人生裡。

因此，我們只能含著淚與祝福，看著他們一步一步走向火山口。

我們沒有什麼宗教信仰，但是，我們願意衷心禱告──

如果有神祉，如果有佛祖，如果有基督 。。。請你們大發慈悲，眷顧這一群孩子，讓他們安然地渡過這一切吧！

Taiwan Premier Liu will NOT apologize for police violation of civil rights

The first demand the students made in the current protest against Taiwan police violation of civil rights during Chen Yunlin's (陳雲林, Chairman of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, China) visit is that President Ma and Premier Liu should apologize.

Premier Liu, in response to a question he was asked in Legislative Yuan (to apologize for the police misconduct), said toady,

道歉？劉揆：挺兩天就過去了
劉揆回說，立委在立法院要他道歉，「我就沒有，這種事挺兩天就過去了」，意外說出真心話。

"I didn't apologize. This kind of thing, you just wait for a day or two and it will pass."

With a slip of words, Premier Liu reveals what he really has in mind about the student protest.

So Premier Liu obviously denies any police wrong doings under his and Ma's administration.

If President Ma has any wee bit of sense of guilt about ripping Taiwanese off the right of free speech and the right of walking on the street freely without the fear of police brutality, he would have asked Premier Liu to apologize before he does.

So the mentality of Premier Liu and his determination to ignore student's request signal the direction Ma's government is gonna take to deal with the student protest -- just ignore it. Not only is President Ma not gonna apologize, but also, neither National Security Bureau Director Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) or National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) will step down (the 2nd demand of the protest).

To the innocent students participating the movement, it's probably their first fight for fears of losing human right they have been enjoying since they were born (thanks to those students who stood up to fight for that before them).

Unfortunately, facing a President and a government willing to sacrifice the human right of his people in order to please an official from China, I am afraid the goal of the current protest is too far to be reachable.

Do kids and grandkids of these innocent students still have the freedom of arranging a sit-in protest without being ran over by tanks like what happened in Tiananmen Square Massacre launched by China government in 1989 ?

May God have mercy !

Live broadcast of student protest against police brutality in Taiwan

Updated : 081110.0745

The "martial law"-like police control that Ma Ying-jeou's government imposes on Taiwanese, especially that during the visit of Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), the chairman of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), has triggered widespread anger among Taiwanese. Students all over the island are organizing protests to demand the government with the following appeals:

1) President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Liu to apologize to the public;
2) Director of National Security Bureau and that of National Police Agency to step down;
3) Revise the unconstitutional Assembly And Parade Law (the current Law requires all demonstrations to be pre-approved, which often used as a political tool to screen protests);

The protest organizers insist the protest to be peaceful and non-partisan. The participation of any political figure is denied. No banner, flag, slogan are allowed, except the only one provided by the organizer, which reads: "The Police Violates the Law."

Live broadcasts are setup for people around the world to witness and participate:

1) Taipei: http://live.yahoo.com/wenli

This is the first protest. Started on 11am, Nov. 6th (Thursday) in front of Execute Yuan, it was dispersed by the police yesterday. Students regrouped on the Freedom Square. It's been going on for ~50 hours now.

2) Tainan: http://live.yahoo.com/tainandirect

Started just now (1 pm Taipei time, Nov. 8th, 2008). It's in Guang-Fu Campus of Cheng Kung University.

3) Taichung: http://1106.ezyou.cc/Home/tai-zhong-chang-ci

This one will start 2 pm, Nov, 9th, 2008, Sunday. See the above link for location. [Tim Maddog edit: It's at Citizens' Square (市民廣場), on the south side of Gongyi Rd. just west of Yingtsai Rd.]

Update-081110.0745:
live broadcast of Taichung protest:
http://live.yahoo.com/tcantiapl
Decode: tcantiapl = tc(Taichung) + anti + apl (Assembly and Parade Law)

Please spread the news.

Ma Ying-jeou is turning a democratic Taiwan into a police state. With the absolute authority he administrates, the current student protests could potentially be turned into "Tiananmen Square of Taiwan."

International media, if you are watching this, please H~E~L~P~~~ ...

Update-081110.0745:

1. MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Simultaneous broadcast of all protest sites at 12:30 PM, Nov.10, Monday, Taipei time (or, 11:00 PM, Nov.9, Sunday, Eastern Time)
   
   
2. The protest is officially called: Wild Strawberry (野草莓)
   
   
3. Hsinchu (新竹):
   11:00Am, Monday Nov.10 (Taipei time), Tsing Hua University (清大小吃部)
   
   
4. Changhua (彰化):
   Well it was between 4~5:00pm, Sunday, Nov.9. I didn't learn this until now. Don't know how it went.
   
   
5. Official websites of the protest:
   Taipei: http://action1106.blogspot.com
   Taichung: http://tcantiapl.twgogo.org
   English: http://taiwanstudentmovement2008.blogspot.com/
   
   
6. English writint/speaking volunteers needed urgently. Please contact yvonne8604(at)gmail(dot)com or check out the English site above)
   

cross-post @ Taiwan Matters

How can Taiwan not be colonized ?

I didn't post any article for a long while, because I have been sick, and I have been sick of it.

But for a couple of days I have not been able to sleep well or eat well. I couldn't direct my attention to anything other than the thought that the beautiful island of Taiwan is spiraling down hill to the grave.

Forget about the economy. Ma Ying-Jeou has turned Taiwan into a slave country, a police state. The old white-terror is back.

I am particularly distressed by the fact that a group of the highest educated Taiwanese individuals (台灣教授協會，Taiwan Association of University Professors, TAUP) are making clueless moves to re-direct the energy of anti-china /anti-Ma movement, which is supposed to be a matter of life-and-death, away to an anti-legislator movement, which is about a no-where-near-any-sort-of-emergency domestic problem.

And that is carried out through an extreme way of hunger strike:
http://www.taup.org.tw/main/index.php

The more extreme the method used, the more energy will be steered away from the anti-china movement. And these highly educated Taiwanese professors do not have any wee bit sense of that ??

Pro-green supporters follow blindly, without the knowledge that they are driven away from a defense of their own future.

And what a great sacrifice a hunger strike is !! Nobody dare to point out the blunder to challenge this holly movement, except a guy who is so naive :

台灣亡國史第 X 章：馬特首暗渡「陳」倉，台教會絕食護航
(Sorry, it's in Mandarin)

The same day after the article was posted, I received an email from a member of TAUP, labeling me a spy sent by the blue/red camp to sabotage the hunger strike movement.

I tried to explain what consequences their movement will cause, and got a reply:

"When Chen Yunlin comes, there is DPP to take care of it."
(陳雲林來的話，自有民進黨的人去對抗)

Execute me, dear highly educated pro-green Taiwanese professors, defending Taiwan is none of your business?

As of now, 11/4, when Taiwan President District Head Ma Ying-jeou quenches all signs of a country in order to lick China representive's ass, it seems that the only thing TAUP cares is how to vote (check out their website).

How can we expect Taiwan not to be a colonized state ?

If we checkout human history for signs before a country falls, or before a dynasty is invaded/replaced by another, Taiwan probably has all of them.

So, guys, relax. Take a deep breath. Slowly. Calm. Calm.. Calm ... Don't fight the flow. Take in slowly, slowly ... until it stops.

.