Spoiling for a murder ...

Well, if you think politics in the US is ugly, take a gander over here. As KMT Chairman Lien Chan and his party wait for the ruling by the High Court this afternoon as to whether the March election will be annuled, they have little to hope for. But one of the lawyers representing both the KMT and the People First Party told the KMT Central Standing Committee that it doesn't matter what the judges say, the election was illegitimate. In response, Lien had this to say:

No one is so great that people cannot touch him. As long as we see anyone who makes frauds or unlawful actions, every one could put this guy to death.

Everyone in Taiwan, on both sides of the political fence, knows precisely what Lien is getting at here. He is advocating the murder of President Chen Shui-bian. Yet because Lien is one of the wealthiest and most powerful people in Taiwan, he'll get away with this. He may take some flak or be forced into retracting the statement, but he'll continue to walk among us enjoying the liberties that, had he attempted this in most countries, would have evaporated in the confines of a prison cell.