THE CADETS
It is foreseeable – if the competition between the dozens of Taiwan's TV-news channels becomes more drastic – that the movie Mad City will recur to the island.
On the afternoon of June 2, 2003, five young men, in their military academy uniforms on which "I have cheated; I am guilty," was written, walked to the NTU (National Taiwan University) campus with a parade of journalists following behind. 
These five former cadets were in the third day of their sit-in protest. Sitting on the edge of the campus square in an orderly manner, they showed their protest posters deliberately as though they had already rehearsed, while press photographers were itching for a shot at resentful, or perhaps shameful, expression on their faces, like vultures ready to nibble away at the residual flesh of a body. A gorgeously dressed lady reporter said, in front of a live camera, that these protesters aroused few compassion, "most NTU students despise cheating and pass by contemptuously."(I took the photo with their prior consent.)
These five former cadets were in the third day of their sit-in protest. Sitting on the edge of the campus square in an orderly manner, they showed their protest posters deliberately as though they had already rehearsed, while press photographers were itching for a shot at resentful, or perhaps shameful, expression on their faces, like vultures ready to nibble away at the residual flesh of a body. A gorgeously dressed lady reporter said, in front of a live camera, that these protesters aroused few compassion, "most NTU students despise cheating and pass by contemptuously."(I took the photo with their prior consent.)Just a week ago, these five former cadets went to the Legislative Yuan (the Congress of Taiwan) looking for support, because the Whampoa Military Academy (WMA) where they had studied for almost four years had unfairly penalized them. They were caught cheating on their "Vehicle Engineering" graduate examination in March and were officially expelled. “It's an illegal punishment,” said Wang, the former trainee Brigade Commander of WMA (the highest post of cadets). "The Cadet Honor Court has made a proper judgment on this case, but Principal Yang (Lieutenant-General) insists on 'eradicating' us from the academy."
The media, of course, was then thrilled to see this conflict and presented it on Headline News immediately. At the very first, most news media tried to "package" the protesters as tragic heroes. In order to stir up public sympathy, journalists claimed that these dismissed cadets were just the victims under the bureaucratic system.
The military academy is always deemed as an autocratic organization, in contrast with Taiwan's open, democratic society. In addition, military procurement scandals have been frequently seen in recent years. The military seems a ripe target for the mass.
"Cheating? Is there a single military officer who dares to say that he has never cheated during his academic career? They went there to learn how to fight, not to take exams," a well-known press critic once commented cynically on this issue. Before long, however, the sympathetic news coverage received a tremendous negative reaction towards the petition. The audience unanimously censured the dishonesty.
Rebuffed by the irritated populace, the media turned the gun away and the bullet hit the cadets instead. The journalists began to query harshly the cadets' motives and morality, saying "Teachers have told us that cheating is wrong. Why do you still go on TV to claim innocence?" quoted a primary school girl's words on a call-in program.
Isn't it a Déjà Vu, a bit similar to Mad City (starring Dustin Hofman and John Travolta), a film in which the TV media first makes the kidnapper out to be an innocent victim and then slandered him as a devil, and, eventually, brought him to the scaffold? 
Some or all of the cadets might have intended to withdraw from the protest, yet the media didn't. How can the media discard such a nationwide sensation? Given the drastically competitive media environment, every reporter is more interested in audience rating than justice; nobody cared about what the cadets (22 or 23 years old) would feel or how they were pressured by innumerable interviews under dazzling flashlights. But the misconceived youths believed the powerful media can plead for them, unexpectedly, only to make things worse.
Some or all of the cadets might have intended to withdraw from the protest, yet the media didn't. How can the media discard such a nationwide sensation? Given the drastically competitive media environment, every reporter is more interested in audience rating than justice; nobody cared about what the cadets (22 or 23 years old) would feel or how they were pressured by innumerable interviews under dazzling flashlights. But the misconceived youths believed the powerful media can plead for them, unexpectedly, only to make things worse. It is foreseeable – if the cut-throat competition between Taiwan's dozens of news channels becomes more intense – that Mad City will recur to the island. When SARS was peaking, there was a sarcastic joke going that we have three ways to keep away from this terrible contagious disease: "washing our hands, putting on gauze masks, and turning off the TV." Undoubtedly the mass media's search for the truth performs positive functions for society. On many occasions, however, they foment public opinions by misleading controversial issues, still worse, manipulating the issues. In this case, cheating is absolutely wrong and these cadets had to pay for their dishonesty. You may condemn their fraud the next time you see their protest on TV again; meanwhile, please take pity on these over-exploited children.
Now, raise your hand if you...vote against these five cadets
* This article was written on June 2, 2003. Despite sort of being obsolete, the topic still restlessly reminds me of that sizzling summer day.
posted by The 1960s at 10:01 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home