Oh Shut-Up junior...

(中文在下方) 

I guess it’s a lot to ask of one so young, but a lesson Hsu Chiao-hsin needs to learn is an important political one…knowing when to shut up. 

To allow a tiny issue like parking on a red line to blow-up into such a big issue is an act of splendid political stupidity. She thoroughly deserves the drubbing she is getting on social media today. 

The publication of the video of the altercation with the hapless constable has made things even worse and re-opened the debate over her behaviour. There could have been no better way to invite fresh attacks if she had walked around Taipei Main Station with a huge KICK ME sign pinned to the back of her jacket. 

It is now very obvious that telling the wretched cop first to go ahead and write a ticket but then quickly following it up with “we will see what happens later” was a thinly veiled threat of dire consequences if he did so. 

To pretend it was anything other than a threat is insulting people’s intelligence.

Most of us when caught with a minor misdemeanour like this just either say “Oh, sorry constable, I’ll move it immediately,” or take the ticket in good spirit in being caught doing something you should not. How many reading this would say to a policeman “Oh OK, write the ticket…we will see what happens later.”     

Few politicians are daft enough to pull the “Do you know who I am?” routine these-days, particularly with the Police. If someone tried it in somewhere like Britain the Cop would likely reply…”No I don’t, and even if you were the Pope or the Queen, I’d still nick you.”

I know in some parts of the world pulling rank still happens, and is tolerated, but Taiwan is too far down the democratic path for it to be happening here. It’s no surprise Ms Hsu is being called out for trying it on, and rightly so. 

But more worrying is rather than just let the story quietly fade away, she is silly enough to continue to defend herself once the damning video was published and be arrogant enough to continue to defend what she did. 

The mitigation is of course, she is still a mere child in the political field and not yet wise enough to react in a smart and intelligent way when caught out. 

A much worse thing to consider is that her young soul has been poisoned by many years of associating with older politicians who perhaps have influenced her with their own arrogant and high-handed ways. 

Tinkerty Tonk...

我很清楚不能要求年輕人過多應該寬容，但徐巧芯需要學習的重要政治課程是，知道什麼時候閉嘴。

允許像違規停車在紅線上這樣的事，爆發成如此大的問題是一種出色的政治愚蠢行為，社交媒體對她毫不留情，完全是她咎由自取。

與倒霉的警察發生爭執的影片公開後，事情變得更糟，並重新引發了關於這種行為的討論。除了穿著一件印著大大的⟨踢我一腳⟩ (KICK ME) 字樣的背心，在台北車站走來走去，否則應該沒有比這更好的方法自討苦吃了。

影片中她先是告訴那個可憐的警察開一張罰單，然後迅速跟進：「沒關係，那我們再回去再講嘛」。這是什麼意思？應該是如果他這樣做，就會產生可怕的後果。假裝這不是一種威脅，是侮辱人們的智慧。

我們中的大多數人在被逮到像這樣不太嚴重的違法行為時，要不就是說：「哦，對不起，波麗士大人，我馬上開走。」要不就是態度良好接受罰單。有多少人讀到這篇文章的人會對警察說：「你開單啊，我們再看之後會怎樣」？

很少有政治人物會愚蠢到說出「你知道我是誰嗎？」這種話，如果有人在英國對執法的警察這麼說，警察可能會回答：「蛤？我不知道你是誰，就算你是教皇或女王，我還是會給你開張罰單。」

我知道在世界的某些地方，亮出名號這種事還在發生，而且是可以被容忍的，但台灣在民主這條道路上已經走得挺遠的了，這種事不應該在這裡發生。因此徐小姐因為這麼做而被攻擊，一點也不足為奇。

而更令人擔憂的是，與其讓這件事悄悄消失，她還傻到在該死的影片公開後，繼續傲慢地為自己的所作所為辯護。

我們當然可以寬容地想：她還年輕，還不夠聰明，無法以聰明的方式做出反應。但糟糕的是，多年與年長的政客相處，她年輕的靈魂已經被毒害，這些政客可能以他們傲慢和霸道的方式影響了她。

Tinkerty Tonk… 掰掰。