Taiwan DPP’s "Elephants, Dead Fish, and Vomit"

[tnews]

The 716 Grand Procession

On July 16, 2023, in the subtropical climate’s burning temperature of 35 Celsius (95℉), an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 Taiwanese citizens gathered peacefully on Ketagalan Boulevard, just a few hundred meters from the splendid Presidential Mansion.
This autonomous, peaceful demonstration was not organized by any political party but by two civilians—YouTube influencer Chen Zhi Han (a.k.a. “Dojo Master”) and Huang Guo Chang (a.k.a. “God of War”), who is an attorney, former legislator, and founder of the Whistleblower Protection Organization.

The 716 Grand Procession’s slogan is simple: “Justice, Equity, Save Taiwan.” Taiwanese people are discontent with the current situation, in which:
• the existence of unjust loopholes in the legal system that allow criminals with DPP backgrounds to enjoy shortened jail time and premium jail conditions. This disparity in justice has left many Taiwanese citizens disillusioned and angered by the ruling party's favoritism and lack of accountability.

• High housing purchase prices and rising rental costs have left Taiwanese youths feeling hopeless about their future. Many believe that the government's policies have failed to address the housing affordability problem adequately, leading to frustration among the younger generation, who struggle to find stable and affordable living conditions.

• The protesters also voiced their determination to stop the DPP from holding onto power in the upcoming election. Many feel that the current ruling party's policies and actions have caused significant harm to the nation and its people, and they believe that a change in leadership is essential for the betterment of Taiwan.

Several public figures were invited to speak to the assembly, including presidential candidates from opposition parties and Foxconn founder Gary Guo. None of the ruling party’s officials were present at the gathering, despite receiving invitations months ago.
Numerous online and offline media outlets controlled by the current Taiwanese government reported this gathering with scorn: “A failure gathering … of the estimated 100,000 participants, only 20,000 showed up.”

Is it appropriate to call a rally of 30,000 people on one of the hottest days of summer a “failure”? The ironic thing is that DPP, the “Democratic Progressive Party,” used to be proud of leading crowds to demonstrate in the street. Now that times have changed, and the once-opposing party holds ultimate authority, nothing is more important to them than keeping resources to themselves.

Elephants, Dead Fish, and Vomit

Taiwan’s DPP has been hiding a lot of “elephants, dead fish, and vomit” that could destroy them in the coming presidential election—something more than half of Taiwanese citizens hope will happen.

“Elephants, dead fish, and vomit” is a unique introspective method Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia developed to deal with internal company issues. “Elephants” are big, ugly truths inside an organization that no one dares to bring up. “Dead fish” are issues people try to hide and ignore, but inevitably the smell surfaces. “Vomit” refers to problems a team needs to get out and openly vent about.

During President Tsai’s last seven years of rule, she set up a Forward-Looking Fund of 880 billion NTD (28 billion USD), but no one knows where the money went or what achievement it brought. President Tsai has never been summoned to attend a congressional inquiry about it, and she has also never reported what was done with the funds. Meanwhile, many Taiwanese citizens have fallen victim to large-scale frauds, including telecommunication scams, work scams, and investment scams. Some government officials have been implicated in these cases.

What’s more - A dozen sexual harassment and infidelity cases involving DPP’s high-ranking personnel—including the Presidential Spokesperson’s affair with a married police officer—have left a bad taste in citizens’ mouths.

For now, Ms. President still has the ability to do whatever she wants with her vested interests, but I believe my Taiwanese compatriots will make a wise decision with their upcoming votes.