Vote for the Catfish, Not for Just Another Sardine

Vote for the Catfish, Not for Just Another Sardine
China Post Editorial
by Bevin Chu
March 24, 2009

Yao Li-ming, independent Pan Blue candidate for the Republic of China Legislature, Daan District, is a catfish.

Chiang Nai-hsing, Kuomintang candidate for the same position, is a sardine.

That is why on Saturday March 28, 2009, registered voters should vote for Yao Li-ming, and not Chiang Nai-hsing in the Daan District Legislative Yuan By-election.

We are talking of course about the "Catfish Effect." The Catfish Effect is a concept from management theory. It refers to the salutary effect a strong competitor has on weaker members of a business organization when he or she is thrown into their midst.

In Norway, live sardines sell for several times the price of frozen ones. But keeping sardines alive on the long journey home is easier said than done. The sardines tend to stop swimming and die. Legend has it one fishing boat captain was consistently able to bring his sardines home alive, time and again. How he did so was a closely guarded secret. Rival fishing boat captains discovered it only after he died, when they boarded his boat and found a single catfish swimming around in a hold full of sardines. The catfish would dart back and forth among the sardines, forcing them to remain active, and therefore alive.

In the field of human resources management, the Catfish Effect is a method for keeping members of a business organization alive, and the business competitive.

In January 2008, Pan Blue voters, having endured eight excruciating years of Pan Green misrule, gave the KMT what it asked for, a solid majority in the Republic of China Legislature.

In fact of course, Pan Blue voters gave the KMT much more than that. They gave the KMT a stunning three-fourths supermajority. They gave the KMT carte blanche, the power to fulfill its election promises, totally free from obstructionism by the opposition DPP.

Now, nearly a year later, President Ma Ying-jeou and KMT Legislators are a quarter of the way through their four year terms. Yet with the exception of cross-Strait relations, what have they accomplished?

Tu Cheng-sheng's Deep Green Taiwan independence propagandists are still running the Department of Education. A glance at our children's textbooks reveals a shocking reality -- De-Sinicization is still proceeding full throttle. Chinese history is still referred to as foreign history. Sun Yat-sen is still referred to as a foreigner instead of the Father of our Country. Japanese occupation is still referred to as "Japanese rule." Taiwan Retrocession is still referred to as the "Cessation of Hostilities." Taiwan's status is still referred to as "undetermined."

Chen Shui-bian appointee Chen Tsung-ming is still Prosecutor General. He is still shielding his former boss from prosecution for corruption and money-laundering, by undermining the prosecution's case against Chen Shui-bian from within the justice system.

Lee Teng-hui's Black Gold reactionaries still command center stage. Ma Ying-jeou's Clean Government reformers still wait meekly in the wings.

The Asset Disclosure Laws proposed by Premier Liu Chao-hsuan still can't make it into committee, let alone onto the floor, despite the fact that no other political party can prevent their immediate passage by the KMT dominated Legislature.

In short, the KMT dominated Legislature is a hold full of dying sardines.

Chiang Nai-hsing is a loyal KMT party member. If elected, Chiang will be subject to KMT party discipline. When the KMT orders the preemptive aborting of any proposed Asset Disclosure Bills, as it has for the past 10 months, Chiang, good soldier that he is, will be forced to comply.

If Chiang Nai-hsing is elected, he will be just another sardine in the hold. If Chiang Nai-hsing is elected, for the next three years the KMT dominated Legislature will continue doing exactly what it has been doing for the past one year -- nothing.

Yao Li-ming on the other hand, is an independent. If elected, he will be subordinate to no one. In contrast to Chiang, he will be free to speak his mind. In contrast to Chiang, he will be free to vote his conscience. In contrast to Chiang, he will be free to demand the passage of the entire spectrum of Sunshine Laws he has been urging the KMT dominated Legislature to pass for the past two years.

In short, Yao Li-ming is a highly aggressive catfish who will give a hold full of dying sardines a new lease on life. Far from doing the KMT dominated Legislature any harm, Yao Li-ming will help improve its job performance, its public image, and therefore its long term political survival.

Pan Green voters terrified of the return of Pan Blue rule, spoiled the DPP rotten. Pan Green voters' over-protectiveness led to the DPP's downfall in eight short years. Short for them, not for us. Pan Green voters' fears led paradoxically to the very result they feared.

Pan Blue voters terrified of the return of Pan Green misrule must not repeat Pan Green voters' mistake. On Saturday March 28, the most effective thing they can do to ensure long term Pan Blue rule, is to drop a catfish into a hold full of sardines, by voting for Yao Li-ming in the Daan District Legislative Yuan By-election.

Long live the Republic of China!