Please don’t read this post. It is not nutritious.
I’m pretty disgusted with the furor over Yang Shujun 楊淑君, the athlete who was disqualified at the Asian Games. However, unlike everyone else on our island, I’m not disgusted with the Koreans or the Chinese, I’m disgusted with the reactions here in Taiwan. All of the politicians are falling over themselves, trying to outdo each other in support of Yang. Lots are demanding the government do something about it, and even President Ma has publicly stated that he can’t accept this decision. The media is even reporting/cheerleading a boycott of Korean goods.
No one is against Yang. I just don’t think this is very important. This isn’t a case of government corruption, it doesn’t say anything about the government’s ability to get things done, and it doesn’t have anything to do with public policy. Winning or not winning a medal in the Asian Games doesn’t mean that Taiwan is a better or worse place to live, or that Taiwanese are any better people. It’s just a medal in a competition. Personally, I think that countries that value sporting competitions for nationalistic purposes shame themselves and should be ridiculed. My own country, the USA, is one of the worst offenders in this regard. I’m not impressed by the communist sports machines that waste so many resources pursuing ultimately meaningless medals, and I’m even less impressed with Americans screaming “USA, USA, USA” as the American national team crushes Malawi in some obscure event that no one would even play if it weren’t for the Olympics. Nationalism and sports are a lousy combination.
So she was disqualified. That’s too bad. Can we move on now?
The only reasonable people seem to be the teenagers who went to the airport to mob their Korean pop star idols. When the TV reporters asked them if they were going to boycott all Korean things to show support for Yang, they looked at her like she was crazy. Thank goodness for silly teenage girls.
Frozen Garlic 
November 20, 2010 at 1:13 am |
It’s not about the medal. It’s about her (and Taiwan) being wrongly accused of cheating/deception when she didn’t (Did you see the article entitled ‘Shocking Deception by Chinese Taipei’?). I wonder whether how many would be blase about it when their team being accused when they didn’t do anything wrong. The athelete’s career would be rather bleak if she carries that label.
There was a tape clearly showing that she took the sensor in question off before the competition. All her gear has been vetted and approved before the competition. Why did the Chinese Taekondo Association’s official, Zhao, say she cheated? The anti-Korean talk was actually pushed by blue friendly media. Most people are actually questioning Zhao.
November 20, 2010 at 4:49 am |
Good day Garlic:
I can see you are disgusted by this incident, & fully understand how you see this incident to be trivial. But the fact is, it has happened. So rather then ranting, which is fully within your right to do, can you please use your highly scientific mind to tell me what impact do you think this would have on the election? I just personally really like to know that. Thanks.
November 20, 2010 at 12:57 pm |
it doesn’t say anything about the government’s ability to get things done, and it doesn’t have anything to do with public policy.
It does. it displays how the gov fails to help her own countrymen who pays tax. When incidents like that happened, the first thing the KMT gov did was excluding the possibility of China’s fault, and immediately pointing the fingers to her own people. If not for the election, Ma gov will never make serious move. This is a bureaucratic gov that has that kind of “people last” mentality for decades. The event helps to lay that out.
Nationalism and sports are a lousy combination.
I believe that in USA, the patriotism is cultivated since childhood with sports. That is, sports define nationalism. Without sports, Americans have no where to learn how to love their country.
November 22, 2010 at 9:20 am |
:mock: Malawi.