"Godfather of Music" Luo Dayou participated in an interview on a radio program hosted by media personality Tang Xianglong. He named former President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President Xiao Meiqin as "childless" and not thinking too much about the next generation. He also alleged that "people from other provinces are bullied miserably." In this regard, Akio Yaita, CEO of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank and a senior Japanese media person, pointed out that his biggest impression after listening to this interview was that "this is not a political comment at all, just an emotional vent that has lost control of logic." He believes that the entire interview has three serious out-of-focus problems.
Yaita Akio posted on Facebook that, first, "there is a serious jump in logic, and the arguments and conclusions are not on the same channel at all." The most ridiculous thing is that Luo Dayou made a big fuss about Tsai Ing-wen, Xiao Meiqin, and Chen Ju having no children, implying that "people who have not given birth to children will not think about the next generation." He criticized, "What kind of sacred jingoistic logic is this?"
Akio Yaita pointed out that the founding father of the United States, Washington, had no biological children. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former German Chancellor Merkel also had no heirs. But on the other hand, Mao Zedong and Stalin both had children, and bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist organization, gave birth to more than 20 children. According to Luo Dayou's political logic, does Bin Laden care for the next generation more than Washington? The more children you have, the higher your moral standards of caring for society will be?
Yaita Akio further pointed out that, secondly, "there are too many subjective illusions, and they actually use speaking freely to prove that there is no freedom of speech." Luo Dayou shouted in the program that Taiwan does not have real freedom of speech, and said that "people from other provinces are being bullied very badly now." Which government agency restricts people's speech? Which law or policy promotes ethnic discrimination? He couldn't provide any concrete evidence to support his conclusion.
Yaita Akio believes that the most ironic thing is that Luo Dayou sat in a radio recording studio and spoke freely and cursed the government. The next day, major media outlets rushed to report on it, completely defeating his absurd assumption that "there is no freedom of speech."
Akio Yaita said, thirdly, "Language has lost its sense of proportion, and nonsense and labeling are packaged as criticism." When Luo Dayou criticized Lai Qingde, he used offensive language and simplified complex social and political issues into crude ethnic antagonisms. He questioned the cultural subsidy system, but without evidence, suggested that cultural workers changed their positions for the sake of profit. This kind of "labeling" behavior has nothing constructive except deepening social isolation and misleading the next generation.
Akio Yaita pointed out that what was more surprising than this interview was the reaction of Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan. Chiang Wanan actually used the words "deafening and enlightening" to praise Luo Dayou's series of absurd speeches. He really wanted to ask Chiang Wanan, "Which sentence was it that was deafening and enlightening?"
Akio Yaita questioned, if expressions that lack logic, are filled with prejudice and emotions can be praised as "inspiring", then what idiom should be used to describe serious public discussions based on data, logic and constructiveness in Taiwanese society?
He said that after seeing Jiang Wanan's performance, he felt that the idiom "dance upon hearing the sound" was very appropriate. Whenever he heard someone scolding his political opponent, he would rush out and applaud without even knowing what the other person said was nonsense.
