Yang Shu-chun: An Authentic Beauty

Yang Shu-chun: An Authentic Beauty
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
November 25, 2010

Executive Summary: Yang Shu-chun is not merely an impressive taekwondo martial artist. She is also physically attractive, pure of mind, and kind of heart. She is "adroit with both the sword and the pen." She is beautiful inside and out. She has earned our admiration and deserves our respect. In speaking out, Yang Shu-chun has personified the values of civilization and humanity. Election season has coincided with the Asian Games. One might say that a gross injustice has become the occasion for a valuable moral lesson.

Full Text below:

Yang Shu-chun is not merely an impressive taekwondo martial artist. She is also physically attractive, pure of mind, and kind of heart. She is "skilled with both the sword and the pen." She is beautiful inside and out. She has earned our admiration and deserves our respect.

The entire nation is outraged at the injustice she suffered. Politicians and the media have demagogued the issue. Public anger is boiling over. She has become the object of public idolatry. Yet she remains clear-headed. Her reflections on the incident on the evening of her return were both touching and thought-provoking.

The incident provoked conflict between the ROC and the ROK. But Yang Shu-chun said "We must deal with the matter rationally. This is truly not the fault of the Korean people." The incident provoked frictions between Taiwan and the Mainland, and touched upon issues of national dignity. But Yang Shu-chun said "Politics is politics, sports is sports." The incident provoked electoral and partisan disputes between Blue and Green political parties. But Yang Shu-chun said "Do not demagogue the issue." The incident drew attention away from fellow Asian Games competitors. But Yang Shu-chun said "Other team members also took gold medals. My teammates performed brilliantly. They should be applauded."

Yang Shu-chun was confronted with fellow citizens caught up in the excitement. But she kept her head. She demands justice for herself and for her nation, of course. But she also knows that some people have become caught up in their emotions. They may express solidarity with her, but they lack a genuine understanding of what happened. She refused to take advantage of their human weaknesses to boost her own celebrity. Instead, she cited first-hand information and judgments from the athletes themselves, and helped people rise above hatred, misunderstanding, and confusion.

When Yang Shu-chun was victimized by an unjust referee, she sat on the floor and wept, eliciting public sympathy. When Yang Shu-chun returned home, she urged fellow citizens to remain clear-headed, eliciting public respect. She was, after all, concerned about the big picture. She had no desire to politicize the issue. She was concerned about human foibles. She did not want people to become victims of their own emotions. She considered this more important than the humiliation she suffered.

The black socks incident touched off a firestorm of controversy. It revealed public concern for justice and public feelings of patriotism. This is natural and normal. It also attracted international attention, bringing with it positive benefits. Therefore this sudden outpouring of public emotion should not be reprimanded, but cherished. But the primary goal remains the pursuit of truth and justice. Therefore, we must allow our emotions to settle. Only then can truth and justice emerge. Yang Shu-chun's remarks will contribute mightily to this pursuit of truth and justice.

Consider how the incident unfolded. From Day One, some alleged conspiracy. They screamed, "[Mainland] China and South Korea conspired to to do away with Yang Shu-chun!" They then blew the incident up totally out of proportion, alleging insults to our national sovereignty and our national dignity. Needless to say, it immediately became a Blue vs. Green political football. Today, Yang Shu-chun has told everyone she was indeed the victim of an unjust decision, but one unrelated to politics. She urged people "not to demagogue the issue," and "not to hurt innocent people."

Yang Shu-chun has earned our respect. She insists on the pursuit of truth and justice. But she is unwilling to pursue truth and justice by distorting the facts. Yang Shu-chun has unfortunately lost her chance to win a gold medal. But her commentary on the incident has enlightened the public on Taiwan. This is even more valuable and important than a gold medal.

Society on Taiwan suffers from cognitive dysfunction, especially during election season. The black socks incident has been distorted as a result of the elections. Yang Shu-chun pointed this out. Consider the water spinach incident, the Jiang Ping incident, the fictitious "30,000 NT subsidies for Mainland students" incident, and the "official persecution of Chen Chih-chung" incident. Which of these incidents was not an aberration? Which of them did not involve cognitive dysfunction? Which of them was not an ersatz "pursuit of truth?" Which one of them did not involve fabricating lies while trumpeting truth and justice?

On the 23rd this newspaper published an article in our editorial column "Black and White Chronicles." We said society on Taiwan is plagued by a number of blind spots. These include the exaggeration of Machiavellian trickery and the neglect of fundamental truths, the exaggeration of rumors and the neglect of facts, the exaggeration of defeats and the neglect of achievements, the exaggeration of the negative and the neglect of the positive, the exaggeration of the exceptional and the neglect of the normal, the exaggeration of pathos and the neglect of healing, the exaggeration of divisions and the neglect of integration. This determination to twist the truth has left our society spinning its wheels, wallowing in self-pity, incapable of bettering itself.

Yang Shu-chun has deftly pointed out these blind spots, these cognitive and emotional weaknesses. We deeply regret the fact that Yang Shu-chun lost her chance to win the gold medal. But we cherish the fact that Yang Shu-chun has used this opportunity to enlighten the public on Taiwan.

In speaking out, Yang Shu-chun has personified the values of civilization and humanity. Election season has coincided with the Asian Games. One might say that a gross injustice has become the occasion for a valuable moral lesson.

楊淑君真是漂亮寶貝
【聯合報╱社論】 2010.11.25

楊淑君不但跆拳功夫了得，人長得漂亮，而且思慮清純，心地善良，她真是一個允武允文，秀外慧中的漂亮寶貝。值得大家疼愛，更值得大家尊敬。

當全國為她所受屈辱憤恨不平，政客炒作、媒體挑撥，民心在激憤中如焚如沸之際；她雖受寵若驚，但仍神智清明，返國當晚對情勢所作的一番評論，令人動容，發人深省。

此事指向台韓衝突，但楊淑君說，「大家要理性對待，真的不是韓國人的錯」；此事導向兩岸摩擦及國格尊嚴，但楊淑君說「政治歸政治，體育歸體育」；此事陷於藍綠選舉黨爭，但楊淑君說「不要炒作」；此事掩蓋了國人對其他亞運選手的關注，但楊淑君說「隊上還有拿金牌、表現傑出的隊友，他們更值得喝采」。

楊淑君面對陷於情緒亢奮的國人，並未不知所以地迷失了自己。她當然要為自己及國家討回公道，然而她也明知有些國人是因陷於不平衡、不完整的認知而聲援她，但她不願利用這種人性弱點來抬升自己的勢位；反而以局中人的第一手資訊及判斷，來協助國人從仇恨、誤解及迷惘中走出來。

乍聆誣判坐地哭泣的楊淑君令人憐惜，回國一番話開導國人的楊淑君令人尊敬。畢竟，她對大局的關注（不要陷於政治化），及她對人性的呵護（不要陷於情緒難自拔），高於對自己所受屈辱的在乎。

黑襪事件掀起偌大風潮，顯示民間的正義感及愛國心；這是自然而正常的現象，且這股風潮對引起國際關注、重視亦有正面效益。因此，對於突然爆發的民間情緒不必苛責，反而應當珍惜。然而，畢竟追求真相、重建正義才是首要目標；所以，要讓激憤的情緒澄清沉澱下來，真相及正義始能顯現。而楊淑君的一番話，對於追求真相及重建正義應有重大效用。

回過頭來看此事的演化軌跡，一開始就爆出「中韓聯手做掉楊淑君」的陰謀論，接著就無限上綱成了國家主權及國格的羞辱，當然也立即成為藍綠選舉相互攻訐的題材……。如今，楊淑君告訴大家，她確實受到不公不義的裁判，但與那些政治聯想皆無關，「不要炒作」，「不要傷害無辜的人」。

楊淑君之所以值得尊敬，是她在追求真相、重建正義的同時，卻不願以捏造真相及扭曲正義為手段。楊淑君不幸失去了贏得金牌的機會，但她評述此事的這一番話，對啟迪台灣人心的作用，應比一塊金牌的意義更為珍貴和重大。

台灣是一個認知錯亂的社會，在選舉期間尤其如此。黑襪事件因選舉而扭曲的面貌，已被楊淑君點出。再想一想，空心菜事件、江平事件、虛構的「陸生三萬」事件、「司法迫害」陳致中事件，又有哪一件不也是一個畸形的認知錯亂事件。亦即，皆是偽冒一個追求真相、重建正義的號召，卻以捏造真相、扭曲正義為手段。

正如二十三日本報《黑白集》指出，台灣政治社會的認知盲點是：「放大權謀／漠視根本」、「放大謠言／漠視事實」、「放大挫敗／漠視成就」、「放大負面／漠視正面」、「放大異常／漠視正常」、「放大悲情／漠視療癒」、「放大撕裂／漠視整合」，這種扭曲的心態，正是台灣長期陷於內耗空轉，沉溺於自怨自艾，無以向上提升的重要原因。

楊淑君正是點出了這種認知的盲點與情緒的弱點。我們萬分痛惜楊淑君失去贏得金牌的機會，卻也更加萬分珍惜她的這一番話對台灣社會帶來的啟示與開導。

就文明及人性的價值而言，楊淑君以身示範的這一番話，可謂是在選季進行的亞運會中，以最大屈辱換得的最大昇華。