Dedication

I remember a song by Julie Su (Su Jui) with lyrics about dedication to the earth and to loved ones—a sense of selflessness and gratitude. Contrasting this with today's utilitarian and realistic society, one hopes for more bright spots in our world. That was why a news report about "piglets" in New Zealand caught my eye: According to a recent report by the Liberty Times, in order to combat bovine tuberculosis, the New Zealand government recruited a batch of pigs to serve as field surveillance pioneers and targets for infectious disease investigation. Once these experimental pigs roamed the fields, contacted other groups, and became infected, aside from those that died of illness away from home, the New Zealand government would recapture and dissect them to understand the pathogen and its transmission routes.

Seeing these piglets sacrifice themselves and dedicate their lives to human society brought tears to my eyes. Looking back at Taiwan, there are similar examples of such "piglets." The Chen Shui-bian administration came to power valiantly, brandishing a fresh image of rooting out corruption. Although initial slogans to eliminate black gold and bribery were deafening, nearly three years into its administration, the public still harbors doubts about its governing capacity and resolve to root out corruption. At this juncture, right before our eyes in Kaohsiung, we witnessed politicians across party lines collectively brimming with a spirit of "dedication" and a determination to face certain death. To make the public firmly believe in the Chen administration's resolve to eradicate bribery, they did not hesitate to act as "martyrs" to uphold the authority of the Chen administration. By offering and accepting electoral bribes in plain public view, they intended to force the Chen administration to crack down on them and establish its authority, thereby restoring public faith in the government's competence and resolve. The sincerity of their "dedication" once again brought tears to my eyes. Therefore, the sincere "dedication" of these towering figures who offered and accepted bribes truly makes them Taiwan's own batch of "piglets" worthy of being hailed as a fine tale, truly deserving of our utmost admiration! However, on second thought, could these "piglet" councilors not have expressed their noble sentiments in other ways? When they inevitably end up behind bars with their notorious names passed down through history, wouldn't their plight be even worse than that of the "piglets"?

※ Published in: Liberty Times