Long Yingtai on Taiwan Politics

Taiwanese writer Long Yingtai (龙应台) has always been one of my favorite Chinese writers. She is insightful and critical, and most of all vocal and fearless.

In her book 这个动荡的世界 (This Turbulent World), she had this to say about politics in Taiwan.

"太奇妙了. 在强人政权下, 反对蒋家王朝, 主张台湾独立, 推动闽南语, 鼓吹女权运动, 赞成同性恋等等都是被压抑的声音. 民主之后, 这些被长期压抑的声音一一跃为主调, 很好, 可是在同时, 不合乎主调的声音却变成了新的被压抑者.

民意张开一张 "政治正确" 的大伞, 没有多少人敢大声地赞美蒋家父子, 敢大声地支持两岸统一, 敢大声地批判闽南文化的新沙文主义之可能, 敢大声地批评女权运动或大声地宣布自己不喜欢同性恋 ... 换了一批人, 换了一套思想作为主流, 可是压抑异议的机制依旧.

"只是这一回, 压力不来自一个强权政府, 而来自一个强权的 "民意" ... 而民意的强权并不比政府的强权不危险. 首先是民意本身的可疑和不可信赖."

"It is really amazing. Under an authoritarian regime, those who opposed the Chiang dynasty, argued for Taiwan independence, promoted the local minnan dialect, supported the feminist movement or agreed with homosexuality were oppressed. But after democracy had been attained, these long-suppressed voices had all become mainstream. Well and good. But at the same time, voices which do not fit into the mainstream had become the newly oppressed.

"On the pretext of public opinion, a large umbrella of "political correctness" has been spread out. Few dared to loudly praise the two Chiangs, few dared to loudly call for cross-strait reunification, few dared to loudly castigate the possibility of the new minnan culture turning into a new type of chauvinism, few dared to loudly critique the feminist movement, and few dared to loudly proclaim that they do not like homosexuality ... A group of people had been replaced, and a new set of thinking has turned mainstream, but the mechanism for oppression remains.

But this time round, the pressure does not come from an authoritarian government, but an authoritarian "public opinion" ... and the authoritarianism of public opinion is no less dangerous as compared to governments. First and foremost is the suspicious and unreliable nature of public opinion."