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。

Uncle Chen - The Passive Aggressive Ninja

(中文在下方)

I guess after 40 years in journalism your view of people, particularly politicians, can get more than a little jaded. So call me an old cynic, but when I see a masterful answer to a journalist’s question, I naturally assume it is a quick-fire, intentional put-down of a political rival. 

So when Uncle Chen was asked for his reaction to Mayor Malfunction’s assertion that everyone who tested positive for Covid should immediately be put on medication, he gently, and kindly, replied that perhaps the journalist was mistaken and was misquoting MM.

But the journalist was right, the MM actually did say that. 

My initial somewhat cynical reaction was that Chen’s reply was a masterpiece of political passive-aggression by suggesting, without actually saying it, that - If the Mayor thinks that, he has no business being a doctor, or a Mayor if he gives such moronic advice to other doctors and the public. 

Anyone with a functioning brain knows full well you don’t start shoving medication down people’s throats before proper diagnosis. To test and then medicate automatically would be the act of a madman.

But was I really witnessing a superb piece of lightning-fast political expertise? Or, is Uncle Chen more like he seems on the surface, a decent, honest and unaggressive politician who doesn’t have his eye on the main chance and is truly dedicated to the task in hand. 

It seems to me that MM has little respect for his own job or the people he claims to represent, coupled with an aggressive nature where blaming everyone else for his own inadequacies is his default position.

This makes Chen all the more dangerous for him to tangle with, as the way the Minister deals with things is so apparently effortless. A true wolf in sheep’s clothing… a wolf doesn't try to be aggressive, it just is.

It is now abundantly obvious that Uncle Chen is living in the Mayor’s head rent free, as MM clearly took it as a devastating put-down and rapidly reverted to type with a display of apoplexy akin to road-rage. 

His indignant reaction in which he backtracked hugely with a “of course I didn’t mean that” speaks volumes of the man. (Let’s just hope someone who does not think before he speaks quite as often as our malfunctioning Mayor, never sees real political power.)

There is something rather pathetic about a doctor trying to be a clever politician being unwittingly outmaneuvered so completely by a dentist who tries hard not to play political games but is somehow unconsciously brilliant at it.

Like a Ninja who quietly and effortlessly deals devastating blows, there is something truly awesome about someone who has the ability to make a political opponent froth at the mouth and dribble with rage with no apparent effort. 

Tinkerty tonk…  

在新聞業打滾40年後，我對人，尤其是對政治人物的看法，可能變得有點枯燥制式，所以你可以說我是個憤世嫉俗的老記者。但當我看到政治人物對記者問題的巧妙回答時，我自然而然會認為這是他們對政治對手的掃射打擊。

因此當陳叔叔 (Uncle Chen) 被問及他對故障市長 (MM, Mayor Malfunction) 說法的反應時，也就是 MM 認為快篩檢測出Covid陽性的人都應該立即服藥，他溫和而友好地回答說：也許是你們扭曲了MM 的意思了。

不過記者說的沒錯，MM 確實這麼說的，快篩陽性就應該給藥。

我最初的反應是，陳叔叔的回答是政治上被動攻擊 (passive aggressive) 的傑作，他雖沒有明說，卻暗示了如果 MM 這麼認為，或者如果他給其他醫生或是民眾這種愚蠢的建議，他就沒有資格當醫生或是市長。

任何大腦功能正常的人都非常清楚，在正確診斷之前，你不會想立刻將藥物塞入人們的喉嚨，確診之後沒有診斷就自動用藥是瘋子的行為。

但究竟我是親眼目睹了一個政治人物閃電般的政治才能嗎？或者 Uncle Chen 其實更像他表面上看起來那樣，只是一個正派、誠實、不咄咄逼人的政治家。他不是機會主義者，只是致力於他手頭上的任務。

在我看來，MM 不尊重自己的工作或他代表的人，再加上一種攻擊性，把自己的不足歸咎於其他人，好像是他與生俱來的一種態度。

能運用被動式攻擊的人可不是等閒之輩，因為這是不費吹灰之力就達成了，是真正的披著羊皮的狼。。。等等，不是的，狼不會試圖變得好鬥，狼就是這樣。

很明顯 Uncle Chen 一直不必付租金住在 MM 的腦袋裡 (Uncle Chen is living in the Mayor’s head rent free)，而 MM 顯然認為 Uncle Chen 給記者關於用藥的回答，是一種毀滅性的貶低，因此 MM 的本質立刻顯現出來了，差不多類似小擦撞的行車糾紛就要拿出球棒那樣 (road-rage)。

在 MM 事後憤憤不平的反應中，他用「我當然不是那個意思」縮回去了，這充分說明了這個人的本質 (speaks volumes of the man)。我們只能希望像 MM 那樣經常說話之前不思考的人，永遠不會得到真正的政治權力。

一個試圖成為聰明的政治家的醫生，在不知不覺中被一個不玩政治遊戲，但不知何故在不知不覺中表現出色 (unconsciously brilliant at it) 的牙醫完全打敗了，這有點可悲。

就像一個安靜的忍者輕而易舉打出毀滅性的一擊，政治人物能毫不費力讓對手口吐白沫 (froth at the mouth)，並且帶著憤怒噴口水 (dribble with rage)，真的很了不起。

Tinkerty Tonk… 掰掰！

You can almost taste Mayor's desperation

(中文在下方)

It was a quiet Sunday morning in the Cat/Squirrel household with both proofreading ahead of this month's book launch...

Then the Cat went berserk.

When this happens I know with around 90 percent certainty who is at the bottom of it…yep, it’s that whacky knockabout dude, the man with a blender in his brain…Mayor Malfunction.

As the end of his reign as Mayor comes to an end, his desperate attempts to remain in the public eye seem to have reached a level where meaningless gibberings now pass off as comment to the media, who are having even more fun than usual baiting him. 

He is a gift of laughter which keeps on giving in terms of entertainment, and he appears to crave attention so badly his next move might well be to strut into the centre of the Taipei Main Station surrounded by his band of girlies… and drop his trousers. It would get attention, and mean nothing…pretty much like most of his antics. 

His latest half-hearted attempt at gaslighting the public he is saying Taiwan’s top epidemiologist doesn’t write his own Facebook posts. An accusation apparently pulled out of his ass with not a shred of evidence. He plays shameless and pathetic political games. The joke is he seems to misguidedly thinks he would make a good leader. 

His other meaningless utterance was “knowledge in the books is one thing, execution is another”. Which is a bit rich coming from someone who has constantly flaunted his paper qualifications from the first day he started campaigning as Mayor back in 2014 and has constantly harped on about ever since. 

So I guess he also means we can ignore Einstein because he never actually executed on any of his theories to prove them.  

I don’t remember any Covid policy moves by him other than to complain about what the Health Minister was doing and failing to put forward viable alternatives. I also seem to remember him standing back and expecting the Government to do everything for him on Covid, and also his second in command actually refusing to pick up the phone when the Health Minister called. 

Is he really now saying he did a good job during Covid? This is gaslighting in the first, second and third degree. He is guilty of nothing ie. doing nothing except carrying out what the Government told him to. 

I have a strong feeling we can soon forget about this buffoon. Once he stops being Mayor the media will be too busy with the new one to bother with him and he, his ragtag party and motley band of followers will wander off into the political sunset…hopefully never to be seen again.

Then maybe some peace can return to the Cat/Squirrel household.     

Tinkerty tonk… 

這是個安靜的星期天早上，本月即將上市的孟買春秋增訂版正在八里淡水河畔進行最後的校對，忽然之間那頭總是衝上去黏在天花板的貓又發瘋了。

這種情況發生時，我大約有 90% 的把握知道是誰在作怪……是的，就是那個奇奇怪怪腦子裡裝著攪拌器的人，故障的市長先生。

隨著他的任期即將結束，他想要讓自己留在公眾視線中的企圖似乎越來越絕望了，絕望到他開始提供媒體毫無意義胡言亂語的評論，而媒體似乎也找樂子般地引誘他開口。

其實他是天上掉下來提供娛樂的禮物，他好像非常渴望受到矚目，他的下一步可能是昂首闊步地進入台北車站的中心，圍繞在他周圍的是那些年輕的女性,，然後他讓他的褲子掉下來引起旁人的注意。但這一切都毫無意義，就像他的大多數滑稽言行一樣，毫無意義。

他繼續對民眾操弄煤氣燈效應(Gaslighting)，影響他們的認知。他今天說台灣頂尖流行病科學家的臉書發文不是自己寫的，這個指控在沒有一絲證據的情況下憑空生出，他以為自己很擅長此類無恥和可悲的政治遊戲。

另一句評論台灣第一名的醫學科學家，毫無意義的話是：書上知識是一回事，實際作戰是一回事。這從他嘴裡說出實在有點厚顏，因為就我所知從 2014 年他開始競選市長的第一天起，他就一直在炫耀他的學歷，並且從那以後還一直在不斷地喋喋不休。

果真如他所說，我們應該可以忽略愛因斯坦，因為他從未真正透過執行他的任何理論來證明它們。

除了不斷抱怨衛福部長的所作所為，卻沒有提出他自己可行的替代方案外，我不記得他採取了任何有建設性的 Covid 政策舉措。我似乎還記得他的副市長在 Covid 期間，拒絕接衛福部長打來電話時。

所以他現在真的是在說他在 Covid 期間什麼都做得很好嗎？這根本就是一級、二級和三級的煤氣燈效應。我不知道他做了什麼，除了一些政府已經在做的事。

我有個強烈的感覺，那就是我們很快就會忘記這個小丑。當他不再是市長，媒體將忙於跟隨新人而無暇顧慮他。而他，他雜亂無章的政黨和追隨者，也將朝政治落日邁進，希望再也見不到他們了。

那個時候，或許貓與松鼠之家，會重獲平靜。

Tinkerty Tonk… 掰掰。

Pessimism and Politics can't be Partners

An optimist is someone who believes we are all moving towards a better world. 

A pessimist is someone who thinks we have already arrived. 

If there is one value a politician needs to have coursing through their veins in gallons, it is optimism.

If a politician is a defeatist they have no place in the political field.

They are a porcelain hammer. From the outside they look tough, solid and perhaps pragmatic, but on the inside weak and unwilling to fight and strive for better things and will shatter into a million pieces if tested. 

Of course, I’m leading up to something…

Step forward Alexander, Huang Chieh-cheng who recently said of the planned visit by Speaker of the House of Representatives, third in line to being the leader of the free world if anything happens to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, that her visit to Taiwan “will not directly and substantially help Taiwan's national defense and security." 

It’s hard to overstate the monumental irony that this was said by - wait for it - the KMT’s representative to the United States. 

Imagine for a moment professor pea-brain’s first meeting with important US officials to supposedly push for Taiwan’s better interests in the world. 

Perhaps in terms of closer integration with the world's most powerful nation and maybe at least trying to perhaps persuade them to maybe think about how else they can help to protect this small island of a mere 23 mln people from the giant bully that is China.

But no, he already thinks it's a lost cause. 

“Oh Hi guys, nice to meet you, this will be a short meeting because you know I have already said it won’t make any difference or change anything at all for Taiwan’s security or defense so I’ll just finish my coffee and have another of these lovely biscuits and be on my way, bye bye.”

Mr Alexander, Huang Chieh-cheng, I have two questions… 

1) What is the point of you, even as a minor political figure? 

2) Which KMT airhead appointed you to represent Taiwan in any way, shape or form in the United States if you have such a pathetically weak personality and defeatist attitude in terms of defending your own country?

It’s rare to encounter such stupidity. Not only publicly articulating that he is a politician who is defeated before he starts, insults the United States who already does a huge amount for Taiwan and even has its own laws on the subject, but to then go there as a so-called representative for Taiwan truly beggars belief. 

I guess he is running true to form given he’s said before that Trump was just being “polite” and “harmless” over Taiwan and “will not change the overall situation.” 

Or, “there are not many people in the international community that can help Taiwan.” (Yeah, right, like the world has done nothing for Ukraine...I seem to remember reading something a little different just recently.)

Or, even more absurd, “If the Kuomintang returns to power in 2024, the Communist Party jets will still circumnavigate Taiwan, because it is aimed at the actions of the United States” indicating he thinks US help is actually putting Taiwan in danger. 

If he and his party think this way, a vote for KMT is a vote for a party that actually wants the US to back off from any further help for Taiwan, a move which would result in China having an open goal to take over control of Taiwan.  

Maybe he has accidentally shown the KMT’s true colours and that is what they really want?

However you look at this, this man is as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike. He should go and sit in a soft chair by a sunny window somewhere and for a nurse to bring him a cup of milky tea from time to time to keep him happy. 

He should be kept away from mainstream politics, the US, and those who actually want better things for Taiwan and don’t want to just throw up their hands and give in to China. 

I’m all for pragmatism, but this is not what he is advocating.

It even goes beyond pessimism…it’s defeatism. 

This man has no place representing Taiwan abroad with such views. 

As a lifelong journalist, I’ve seen and written about some bad politicians in my time. 

But guys like this still have the ability to make me slap my forehead so hard I end up flat on my back. 

Tinkerty tonk…

 

Lost Property - Anyone seen the Mayor's brain?

Sigh.... our mindless and malfunctioning mayor has managed to blow another microchip and forced me to write something on a Sunday evening when I should be putting my feet up. 

He and his Thoughtless Moronic & Desperate (TMD) party seem to have insisted the government state a black and white policy on Covid, a staggeringly inane demand, which coming from a doctor defies belief.

Although being a one-trick pony (ie the one small thing he was apparently good at with heart conditions) I guess we might forgive him for not understanding the broader issues of actually running a country. 

On the other hand, perhaps we should not.

He seems to suggest the government should state one of two policies, being…

1) To close down all quarantine and personal protection protocols and live with Covid. 

2) To aim for zero Covid cases.

Deep breath, as it’s hard to emphasise the absurdity of such a demand. 

Zero cases is an impossibility, particularly of a modern scourge. 

Erstwhile killers like Smallpox and Tuberculosis (TB) have largely been eradicated from developed countries but after decades of work and vaccinations. They are still a huge problem in countries like India, to take but one example. 

Lifting all restrictions immediately is possible. Britain has done just that, but at the cost of a spike in infections to record levels, although hospitalisations and deaths are not rising due to the vaccination programme. 

However, that doesn’t mean people don’t get sick and have to stay off work, or get sick enough to tie up doctors in order to get prescription medication.

As a result of Covid infections, the British economy is suffering as workers are taking time off, and there have been big issues with anything from truck driver to nursing staff shortages causing huge logistical problems.

Remember, when even a single worker takes a day off sick, the economy of a country suffers in terms of production and output.  

In Taiwan, which has an enviable record of handling Covid, I would guess the government doesn’t want to throw all its good work away by risking hurting the economy by allowing a spike in cases and having to deal with a big hit to production and output.

There is no black and while policy with Covid policy as Dr Dismal seems to think. It is naive to believe otherwise, and as a doctor he should know better. 

It is a shade of policy grey which needs careful consideration and a well timed and gradual response. The government is clearly taking its foot off the gas with regards to Covid restrictions and rightly so.

It is balancing caution with the desire to get back to normal, while not wrecking other things, most particularly the economy. It is a slow, steady and pragmatic process and that is good governance.  

To demand they go one way or the other is simply ludicrous. As Mark Twain famously said “The Only Two Certainties In Life Are Death And Taxes.” 

The bottom line is this is desperate politics by the TMD who have no real substance as a party and are trying to attack something, in this case a government which has delivered a world beating response to Covid. 

It is a lost cause which only the most hardened and hard-headed of its supporters won’t be able to see through.   

I put a self-imposed scale of idiocy on the Doc as I’d only be getting three hours sleep a night if I had to respond to every one of his daft or idiotic pronouncements. 

It looks like I either have to revise my stupid scale, or hope his advisors sit him down - yes, perhaps with a cup of milky tea to keep him calm - and tell him what an idiot he is making of himself on a regular basis and help him at least say something sensible and constructive for a change. 

Tinkerty Tonk…    

Decent politicians...

(中文在下方)

I spotted a picture of the Health Minister sitting talking to a group of people which pretty much every publication here was using yesterday. I asked my COTC (Cat On The Ceiling) what it was all about and to my utter amazement - NOT - it was about him showing some understanding and empathy towards one of the guys who works for him. 

Having written only yesterday about politicians who lie, trick and disrespect voters, I now feel the need to put pay to the myth that to be a politician you have to be thick-skinned, demanding, aggressive and perhaps downright nasty to be successful. 

I was lucky enough to be successful in my career and worked for a huge global company that understood leadership and the balance of mindset required for successful leadership. 

Leadership is not about bullying or surviving, it’s about being accountable, having empathy and understanding or taking criticism and not complaining you are being ‘got at’. 

In short, it’s about being a decent human being and understanding, getting the best out of your team and doing the very best you can for people you have control over.  

Yes, sometimes you fire people, sometimes you give them huge pay rises. But it must be fair and there is always a balance.   

The COTC tells me some have commented that the Health Minister was at a party while his poor subordinate was not. I’m sorry, but anyone with that thought process is lacking intellect as it’s an argument that doesn’t stand up on any level. It’s impossible for any manager to know everything at all times. 

I remember one occasion I was sitting at home in Beijing watching TV when my South Korea bureau chief told me he’d been in the office 18 hours and could I persuade the Singapore filing desk to take over the stories his guys in the field were writing.

It’s hard to keep a handle on everything when you have a big team. In the Health Minister’s case it was someone asking to go and do some laundry. I have less excuse as my South Korean bureau chief wanted to get home to see his children before they went to bed. My Bad.  

My hope as an Adopted Brit is that we continue to see more politicians like the Health Minister and his colleagues running this country. Decent, honest and accountable leadership qualities are so important.

Tinkerty tonk…     

(Sorry there are no jokes in this one but I feel very strongly about this and I am disgusted with so many of the politicians around the world right now) 

今天我在和台灣相關的新聞上發現了一張衛福部長坐著和一群人交談的照片，到處都是，於是我問我家那頭總是氣噗噗黏在天花板上的貓(COTC，Cat On The Ceiling)這是怎麼回事。

令我驚訝的是，其實我一點也不驚訝，這是他提及屬下時表現出理解和同情的畫面。

昨天我才寫了一篇關於撒謊、欺騙和不尊重選民的政客的文章，彷彿要從政你就必須臉皮厚、總是要求別人、好鬥，更或許是要徹頭徹尾的讓人討厭才能一舉成名，現在我覺得有必要再說明一下。 

我很幸運在一家大型國際通訊社工作了三十多年，我的公司了解領導力的重要，為什麼需要成功的領導力，以及如何在工作和設身處地之間取得平衡。在我的職業生涯中，我還算小有成就。

領導力不是仗勢欺人或弱肉強食，而是關於負責任、有同理心和理解或接受批評，也不是總是抱怨你被針對了。簡而言之，領導者必須當一個體面正直而有同理心的人，進而讓你的團隊發揮出最好的一面，並且你得盡全力讓你管理的人得到最好的。是的，有時你得解僱人，有時你也給人巨額加薪，但這些都必須公平。

COTC 告訴我，網路上有些人批評衛福部長參加了聚會，而他可憐的下屬卻沒有，他必須去洗衣服。對不起，就這一件事任何如此思考的人都缺乏智慧，因為這是一個在任何層面都站不住腳的論點，因為任何管理者都不可能知道所有的事。

我記得有一次我坐在北京的家裡看電視，當時我是負責北亞的總編輯，正在處理大新聞的韓國分社社長告訴我，他已經在辦公室裡待了18個小時，希望我可以請新加坡編輯台接手處理韓國的新聞。

當你管理一個大團隊時，對每一件發生在屬下身上的事瞭若指掌幾乎不可能。在台灣衛福部長的例子裡，有人要求回家去洗衣服，在我的例子裡，我的韓國分社社長想在孩子們睡覺前回家看他們一眼。這些提出要求的人顯然已經累了，他們的上司同理他們並且協助。

作為一個被台灣收養的英國人，我希望我們能繼續看到更多此類政治人物，比如衛福部長和他的同事，讓他們管理這個國家。體面正直、誠實和負責任的領導素質非常重要。

抱歉這篇短文沒有笑話，但我對政治需要的正直體面(decency)感覺非常強烈，尤其現在我對世界上許多政客感到厭惡。

Tinkerty tonk…   掰掰。

Hypocrisy 101

(中文在下方)

Word of the Day today is Hypocrisy which is defined as “the practice of claiming to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case.”

In the case of those who manage to get people to vote for them, it is often more simply put at “Do as I say, not as I do.” 

Sadly, my self-imposed scale of idiocy has been breached yet again. 

The latest rant from my Cat-on-the-Ceiling is again about Dr Dismal the so-called leader of Taipei City. 

He, and his party, are laughing off the fact he broke Government advice by not wearing a mask when he should. He is part of this country’s government and if as he admits he is so moronic he doesn’t understand the rules he should not be Mayor, much less a doctor with peoples’ lives directly in his hands.   

OK Doc, next time you see a patient or are in an operating theatre don’t wear a mask and laugh it off when you spread infection. Best try not to forget, eh? Tie a knot in your handkerchief, or something.  

The shameless laughing-off of something like this contrasts sharply with other leaders caught out in similar circumstances, and there are many.

They have genuinely apologised because they knew they are in the wrong and need to say sorry because they have jobs where they tell other people how to behave. They know they are accountable and behave in an honourable and respectful manner.

To laugh it off as 'Oops, sorry, tee, hee..it was only a song' shows a staggering lack of respect for the public who have had their lives controlled by Covid regulations for the past two years. 

Maybe Mayor Malfunction caught the hypocrisy virus from the equally appalling British Prime Minister Borish Johnson who is rightfully being asked to resign as a result of attending Christmas parties at No 10 Downing Street at a time when gatherings were banned under Covid rules his government put in place. 

His constant lies were initially “all guidance was followed completely at No. 10” a week later “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party” and “I can tell you I certainly broke no rules” and “nobody had told me that what we were doing was…against the rules.”

Police yesterday issued fines on 20 people who attended the Downing Street parties and more are expected to follow. Johnson himself could be fined. 

Let’s not let someone in Taiwan who thinks it’s OK to laugh off rule breaking and disrespect the public get into a position of greater power. Let Johnson’s outright lies be a warning of where it all might end.

Tinkerty tonk...    

今天的每日一字是偽善/虛偽/表裡不一/(Hypocrisy)，這個定義為：聲稱擁有比實際情況更高的標準或更崇高的信念。

對那些設法讓人們投票給他們的人來說，更簡單的說法是：照我說的做，而不是照我做的做。

很遺憾我設定的白痴程度儀表板今天又超標，那就是超過一定愚昧程度我才會評論某些政治人物，這個時刻再度來臨。

我家那頭憤怒時就會咆哮衝上屋頂的貓又黏在天花板上了，因為那個所謂的首都市長和他的政黨，對違反政府的口罩規定一笑置之，請注意他是這個政府的一員。

坦率地說，如果他承認自己如此愚蠢無法理解這個簡單的政府規定，他不應該成為市長，更不用說想當一個與病人生命息息相關的醫生。好吧這位醫生，下次當你看病人或在手術室裡不戴口罩傳播病毒造成感染時，最好也能一笑置之。

不過我希望你最好不要忘記戴口罩好嗎？也許你可以在你的手帕一角打個結什麼的提醒自己，很多英國父母都是這樣告訴他們的孩子。

這種無恥的一笑置之與其他面對類似情況的政治人物形成鮮明對比，因為有很多人真誠地道歉，他們知道自己錯了需要說對不起，因為他們必須以身作則，知道要對自己的言行負責，並以體面和讓人尊重的方式行事。

以「哎呀抱歉啦，不過是唱首歌而已」打哈哈帶過，表示此人對過去兩年來生活一直受到防疫限制的民眾，完全缺乏尊重。

也許台灣這位故障的市長先生，是從同樣駭人聽聞的英國首相強生那裡感染了「虛偽」的病毒。最近有人很合理地要求首相辭職，因為在他的政府規定Covid期間禁止聚會的期間，他參加了唐寧街 10 號首相官邸的聚會，他們在聖誕節和新年期間喝酒吃起司慶祝。

他一連串的謊言最初是「唐寧街10號完全遵循所有防疫指導原則」，一週後變成「自從這些指控出現以來，幕僚一再向我保證沒有聚會」和「我可以告訴你，我當然沒有違反任何規定」和「沒有人告訴我，我們的所作所為……違反了規定。」

警方展開正式調查後終於在昨天對參加唐寧街派對的20人處以罰則，預計警方還會宣布更多違法行為。

我們不能讓那些認為違法可以一笑置之的人在政壇獲得更大的權力，希望英國首相強生徹頭徹尾的謊言是一種警告，讓此類行為不再發生。

Tinkerty Tonk… 掰掰。