Smackdowngate
Went home yesterday and got a chance to look at some of the footage of the "attack" in Tainan yesterday. My first hint that something was amiss (apart from an email from the Maddog) was that the folks at TVBS News were talking about the alleged melee much more than they were showing any footage of it, and the footage that I did see there, showed a crowd of people shouting at the ARATS guy, then cut to him lying on the ground. "See, see? He was PUSHED!" Ummm....hang on.
Another video on a different station shows the old guy walking backwards, the only hand on him that seems to be holding him up is the only one near him, and he suddenly goes down as if he tripped over a root.
See for yourself at the BBC
In this AP Footage from YouTube, it looks a little like he was pushed. . . but the hand appears to belong to his minder.
All headlines across the Internets suggest differently. The BBC says "Taiwanese Attack Chinese Envoy." The New York Times headline at least isn't as sensational, "Taiwan: Chinese Official Jostled" The article does say he was knocked to the ground. "Chinese Envoy Attacked in Taiwanese Temple" is how they put it at the Financial Times. Seems a bit odd, though, as it was at the Confucius Temple in Tainan where the kerfuffle occurred. I know several people who would adamantly claim that there is absolutely nothing Taiwanese about a Confucius Temple.
You know, in my manic search through the headlines, I don't see anything that says "Chinese Envoy Trips and Falls in Tainan." I'm not surprised. Who wants to buy a newspaper with a headline about an old person falling?
The Taipei Times article "ARATS Man Jostled, Jeered at in Tainan" does state that it's not clear if he pushed or fell.
Yesterday I wrote that the pushing down of old men is not condoned by the anyone on the staff of B@Taiwan. I paused to think, though, that if Dick Cheney were to be shoved by a Taiwanese protester I would have no problem with it. The jostling, I think, needs to be put into a context that means something to me for me to condone it. My own views on Taiwanese Independence are somewhat wishy-washy at the moment, though I hope all who know me understand that I have an affection for freedom and democracy. Is it okay to knock down someone with whom you have a political disagreement? Maybe.
