What on earth is going on? It would seem I am making some Presidential hopefuls lose sleep lately.
It’s somewhat incredible they don’t have anything better to worry about than an aging journalist sitting on his balcony in the sun having a bit of fun making some jokes about policy mis-steps by the opposition and city leaders. Hyper-sensitive, or what?
It’s all extremely flattering for me and the last time I got this much attention in Taiwan was when I did a TV interview with Ma Ying-jeou back when he was President and I was based in Beijing.
I can’t quite understand why they are all so frightened of little me. As I said the other day, surely I am a mere flea biting the backside of an elephant like someone who has Presidential ambitions.
Why so much fear and why so defensive? Maybe it’s just a case of an empty vessel making the most noise.
I really have to wonder why they are so worried and why they are reacting like I have any influence outside of the people who already agree with me and enjoy laughing along with me at the comic and sometimes bizarre antics of some Taiwan officials.
Am I really Public Enemy No.1? It would seem in their eyes I somehow wield huge influence over the entire electorate. Gosh, I never realised and such power might go to my head.
Maybe they are just bored and have nothing better to do. Maybe, somehow, I am a massive threat to them. Although for the life of me I can’t see how.
For my part, I get a bit bored, being retired, and there is only so much time you can spend tending a little balcony garden. So I’ll keep writing and criticizing those in power who screw up, or do a bad job, and continue to hold them accountable as it is what people should know.
A democracy is about free speech and as a retired person not in the pay of any political party anywhere in the world or in the pay of any media organisation I will continue to make good use of my freedom of speech.
This has all made me think I actually should sign up for a Facebook and a Twitter account and write even more and more often, given this bizarre over-reaction to my few articles so far. If I can stir up such a huge reaction via a few stories, just think what I might be able to achieve with constant Tweeting and Facebooking?
I’ve already turned down a few TV stations who wanted me to go on, maybe I should take up the next one and go on a few shows to say what I really think to a much wider and perhaps national audience. As the old English saying goes...In for a penny, in for a pound. If I’m going to get attacked with all sorts of weird and untrue claims, I may as well go the whole hog and start airing my views a lot wider， and to a bigger audience. I’ll have to give it some thought.
Until then, dear critics, please do try to relax, sleep better at night and lower your blood pressure. If you get so wound up now about what people like me write, I dread to think what you will be like come the election. Your nerves will be sticking out on stalks and you will be on intravenous muscle relaxant if you don’t calm down a bit.
Go to your doctor and stock up on blood pressure pills, because come election time a lot more serious critics will be wading in. I’ll likely just sit on the sidelines and point and laugh.
Chill guys, until then...I’ll keep writing...sleep well and have a jolly good and hopefully relaxing weekend.
Tinkerty Tonk...
《 雖然令人困惑，但有高度娛樂性》 這到底是怎麼回事？最近我似乎讓一些想要選總統的人失眠了。 令人難以置信的是，他們難道沒有比一個坐在陽台上曬太陽的老記者更值得擔心的事情嗎？這有點令人難以置信，因為他只不過是開開反對黨和市長搞砸的玩笑而已。這是超級敏感還是怎樣？ 這一切對我來說非常令人受寵若驚，上一次我在台灣受到如此多的關注是我在電視上採訪了馬英九，當時他還是總統，我是路透社派駐在北京的北亞總編輯。 我不太明白為什麼他們這麼怕一個小小的我。正如我前幾天所說的那樣，我只是在有總統野心的大象背上咬了一口的跳蚤罷了。 為什麼這麼害怕？為什麼這麼有防備心？或者只是因為那是半瓶水，因此響叮噹。 我真的很想知道他們為什麼這麼擔心，為什麼他們的反應好像是除了那些和我看法相同的人之外，我有什麼影響力。而那些人也只不過是很享受和我一起嘲笑滑稽荒謬的台灣官員罷了。 我真的是一號公敵嗎？ 在他們看來，不知何故我好像可以對全體選民產生龐大影響。天哪，我從來沒有意識到我有這種力量，這可能會讓我沖昏頭。 不過也許他們只是無聊沒什麼事可做，也因為這樣不知何故，我忽然對他們形成巨大的威脅，雖然我這輩子從來沒想過這種事情會發生。 就我而言，其實我退休了生活有點無聊，畢竟你只能花這麼多時間照顧陽台上那個小小的花園，所以我會繼續寫文章批評任何搞砸了，或者做得不好的當權者，並繼續追究他們的責任，因為這是人們應該知道的。 言論自由是民主的一環，作為一個退休人士，我沒有收到世界上任何一個政黨或是任何一個媒體的薪資，我將繼續充分利用我的言論自由。 不過這一切都讓我覺得我應該開 Facebook 和 Twitter 帳戶，並且頻繁寫作，因為到目前為止，我僅僅幾篇文章就引起了這樣詭異的過度反應。如果寫幾篇文章就可以引起如此巨大的反應，想想看不斷在 Twitter 和 Facebook 發文，會有什麼後果？ 我已經拒絕了一些想請我上談話節目的電視台，也許下一個邀請來的時候我應該接受，那麼我可以向更多甚至可能是全國的觀眾說出我的真實想法。正如古英語諺語所說，反正要做，那就做全套。如果我必須面對各種奇奇怪怪的不實指控和攻擊，我不如全力以赴，開始更廣泛地向更多觀眾發表我的觀點。嗯，也許值得考慮一下。 在那之前，親愛的批評者，請盡量放鬆，試著在晚上好好睡覺，不要讓血壓升高。如果你現在已經對像我這樣的人寫的東西如此焦慮，我不敢想像你在選舉期間會是什麼樣子。如果你不稍稍冷靜下來，你的神經會像是新冠病毒一樣張牙舞爪，你也得服用靜脈肌肉鬆弛劑。 我建議你去看醫生，並請他幫你開一些降血壓藥備用，因為選舉時間一到，就會有更多的批評者出現。屆時我很可能會坐在一旁，指著你們哈哈大笑。 冷靜下來吧，而在下次見面之前，我會繼續寫作。希望你們睡個好覺，度過一個愉快而輕鬆的週末。 Tinkerty Tonk...掰掰。
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