And we think we have problems…
We have our fair share of clunker politicians.
The liars, cheaters and worse.
Both parties.
Equal opportunity scum.
The construction boss known as Mr. Pumpkinman has a lengthy criminal record _ and a prominent place in Taiwan’s legislature.
Yen Ching-piao, 49, who has served time for weapons and racketeering convictions, is part of a little-discussed phenomenon in Taiwanese politics: the prevalence of criminals in elected posts.
By one estimate, 15 to 30 percent of the lawmakers in Taiwan’s 15 counties _ roughly equivalent to U.S. states _ have criminal backgrounds. Some run illegal gambling dens or massage parlors. No matter. They endear themselves to voters as any other good politician would: by using their money and influence, ill-gotten or not, to deliver services to constituents.
It has proven a particularly successful strategy in Taiwan because of the island’s notoriously unresponsive bureaucracy.
Elementary school principal Li Shuen-liang, who lost to Yen in the 2008 legislative elections, said one of his opponent’s major advantages was his ability to deliver tangible benefits to voters, rather than just airy ideological declarations that few care about.
A turning point came in the campaign when Yen provided dozens of computers to area schools, seemingly with no strings attached.
“Gangsters want grass roots supporters’ votes and not their money so they take good care of them,” Li said.
His view was echoed by janitor Chi Tsueng-ing, who lavished praise on Yen for helping her daughter’s boyfriend visit a friend in jail, without asking for a customary gift in return.
“We all admire him and vote for him,” Chi said, “He’s just like a god because he answers our wishes.”
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 3:22 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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