From The China Times blog, translated by EastSouthWestNorth:
After the publication of “The Proceedings of Lung Ying-tai’s Speeches at Harvard University and Washington DC”, the netizens responded powerfully and enthusiastically. Some agreed with her, some admired her, some rebuked her, some cursed her and all that. Pro-Taiwan independence, pro-unification … one label after another was hurled at her. It was bustling with noise and excitement.
What kind of person is Lung Ying-tai? The book-reading club that invited her to speak in Washington DC introduced her thus: “Her ancestral home was in Hangshan (Hunan province). She grew up in a rural area in southern Taiwan. She was nurtured by Chinese culture. She harbors a deep emotional bond for Taiwan. She studied and taught in the United States. She lived a long time in Europe. She has traveled over many places and she has experience with complicated international situations. Lung Ying-tai uses a clear mind to connect history with the present, she understands the conflict between eastern and western cultural values and she employs a tolerant attitude to interpret the world in front of our eyes. Furthermore, she knows her own limitations and she will not conceal or pretend. She uses an open mind to face the complex and tricky cross-strait relationship.
……As a writer, Lung Ying-tai ought to be playing the role of a critic. But this is actually her character that caused it. Russell said that what impels him to express his opinions is “the need for love, the thirst for knowledge and the deep sympathy for human suffering.” Lung Ying-tai believes that this is a description of her own frame of mind. A cultural critic wrote: “Such a person may become a thorn in the back of those in power and mock the worldly wise ones. But the person is also like a canary in a coal mine which lets the majority of the people feel safe in the knowledge that fresh air still exists.”
Without doubt, such a Lung Ying-tai is destined to be solitary while offending multiple sides. Yet since writing “The Wildfire Collection” more than twenty years ago to criticize the Nationalists, she has been consistent in holding onto her core values and concepts firmly. Lung Ying-tai once said: “As a matter of fact, I am just someone who refuses to believe that human rights must not be distinguished by political position. The Nationalist Party, the Communist Party, the Democratic Progressive Party, whatever f*cking party, if human dignity is not your core value and if you permit human rights to be determined by the powers-that-be, then you are just an object upon which I spit. You do not intimidate me.”
Lung Ying-tai is actually no big deal. She is merely the only person in Taiwan who dares to criticize the Nationalist Party, the Democratic Progressive Party and the Communist Party. [Full Text]
