Thoughts On 民間國是會議

http://www.hi-on.org.tw/bulletins.jsp?b_ID=88132

I sort of agree with Mr. Lin on several points.

Some people said 國是會議 is a waste of time. One reason I think they say that because maybe the DPP will just close the door and discuss among themselves, which might result in no new good ideas. But of course that depends on how it's run. If they make sure to open the door to recieve different voice and ideas, it might be better.

I think those people might also have stated it that way because with the current desperate situation, it really seems useless to sit around talking while Ma is selling out Taiwan in high speed. They are partially right. It's impossible to stop Ma just by sitting around talking.

But in my opinion, just go to the street, demonstrate, or even just start a revolution, might not work out well neither. See...I think in these type of situation, ideas are bullets, ideas are weapons. Because you need to win people's heart and mind at the same time you take actions.

During American Revolution, they setup the Continental Congress first. They do nothing but talking all days and sending envoys to British King probably. Then they setup the Continental Army, lead by General Washington. The 2 armies from both side fought each other of course, and without the Continental Army, there probably won't be an USA. But without a Continental Congress, would there be an USA as well? I am not sure. Certainly, the congress gave the Declaration of Independence. They formalize colonists desires and the reasons behind them. They sort of "provide the reasons to fight."

The same can be said with the current Taiwan situation. Well...of course, we probably don't want to and are probably not at the point where we need to setup some sort of "Island Army." But the ideas are similar. While the legislators resist, and discontent citizens demonstrate in the street, the 國是會議 type of thing can be a platform in which "reasons to fight" can be formalized. Some might say "we know the reasons already." Well, maybe you and me know the reasons. But does the majority of the people know the reasons well? If they don't, when they see all the chaos etc that will surely occur, with pan blue media smearing DPP, what do you think they will think? They probably will just get annoyed.

So basically we also needs to persuade the public of the reasons. And the reasons can range from short term to long term. Short term being something like why we don't want CECA, and maybe why we want Ma to step down. Long term can be more about what can pan green promise if Taiwan is independent. In another words, what could be Taiwan's future, and what's pan green's vision for Taiwan. Of course they have to be worth fighting for, but at the same time realistic.

The first thing is to come up with the "right stuff." Combining different good ideas and formalize them. Something that can really explain the reasons and echo people's inner thoughts. Well, maybe kind of like the movie Cape No. 7, which just bring out things that people feel but can't explain...but maybe not that strong in emotion but more in reasons. The second thing would then be getting those in DPP and TSU higher up people to hear the voice, so when the time comes, they can make the right decision or just the right speech. The third of course is to spread these messages through different means...internet, TV, books, newspaper, or just discussion amoung people.