We are not so different, you and I

*Warning: below contains my limited understanding of politics, feel free to correct me.

Is a direct quote from Austin Powers I & III (well, the III one was a quote from the I one). You'd get it if you watch the entire Austin Powers franchise as avidly as I did. Anyhow. The "you" I refer to is the Americans, and the "I" I refer to is the Taiwanese.

Perhaps I should specify, I am talking in terms of government and the perception of the general public. But I am sure it is the same everywhere else in the world. Dubya is not particularly popular because of many things. Neither is A-bian from the other side of the Pacific pond.

A-bian (or President Chen Shui-bian, formally) has just been charged with graft. A-bian is the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party, and they are supposed to be all about the independence from China thing. A-bian has been in office for 6 years already, and nothing has happened in that respect. Then this huge scandal broke out in the middle of 2006, and it started out as the First Lady herself taking huge amounts in department store gift certificates in bribery, in exchange to effecting who will be taking over the said department store. Gift certificates, you ask? Don't ask. Then A-bian's son-in-law was charged with bribery as well, and was in jail for a good while (a month, maybe? I can't recall). All these allegations that flew around, and the Taiwanese media being the ruthless sharks they are, just piled it on. Finally by September, a former leader of the DPP came out and organized this "Million people depose A-bian" thing. Basically they wanted to get him out of the office, so they organized donations to that cause, and sit-ins. Massive sit-ins where everyone was dressed in red. And now A-bian is charged.

You can read about the details @ BBC. They have more articles about this thing than CNN.

But the similarities not only lies within their un-popularity. Also their supporters. I just spent an hour watching this Taiwanese call-in show with all these "political commentators". In it you got people saying, "It's not A-bian's fault, it's the system." I just find it uncanny that many of Dubya's supporters, from the s0-called "Red States" are mostly, I hate to be politically incorrect, but hicks/rednecks. On the other hand, most of A-bian's supporters are, mostly, undereducated, dialect-speaking, hicks. (Disclaimer: Just my perceptions, does not mean I intend to insult anyone, nor does it mean I am better than these people.)

It's entirely stupidity at work here, being so greedy and can't get your hands out of the honey jar they called "Top Secret Diplomatic Funds". That's how A-bian got his money you know.

Anyhow, thus concludes my two-minute rant about the current situation of Taiwanese politics. I am not saying it's so bad that I wouldn't want to live there. Because face it, this may all be going on, but life goes on as well.