Persimmons for only Two Dollars a Kilo. The DPP Puts a Jinx on Farmers

Persimmons for only Two Dollars a Kilo. The DPP Puts a Jinx on Farmers
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
November 28, 2011

Summary: The DPP has launched a "Wasted Labor Calendar" ad campaign, directed at seasonal fruits on Taiwan, Different fruits represent each month the stock market plunged. It is now autumn, and persimmons are in season, According to the calendar, they are currently marked down to only 2 dollars per kg. The production cost is 40 dollars per kg. The discrepancy is obvious. Many farmers are hopping mad, They think this approach is harmful to the market, and is hurting fruit sales.

Full Text Below:

The DPP has launched a "Wasted Labor Calendar" ad campaign, directed at seasonal fruits on Taiwan, Different fruits represent each month the stock market plunged. It is now autumn, and persimmons are in season, According to the calendar, they are currently marked down to only 2 dollars per kg. The production cost is 40 dollars per kg. The discrepancy is obvious. Many farmers are hopping mad, They think this approach is harmful to the market, and is hurting fruit sales.

The purpose of the DPP ad campaign is to lash out at the KMT, The Ma administration is depicted as incompetent, as incapable of solving the problem of agricultural production and marketing. The ad also took a swipe at ECFA. It attempted to discredit Ma Ying-jeou's cross-Strait policy achievements, It alleged that farm income on Taiwan has fallen, and that farmers have not benefitted from cross-Strait exchanges. The DPP's campaign smears reek of desperation, It cites facts and figures out of context, It even fabricates them, It artificially fabricated prices in the creation of its calendar, by means of smoke and mirrors. But gross exaggerations merely diminish the credibility of the DPP's propaganda, They unwittingly impugn the hard work of farmers throughout the year. This was something the DPP failed to anticipate.

The DPP is adept at cut-throat election tactics. Using such tactics to demagogue farm issues, it was certain it had a winning strategy, one that would enable the DPP to "consume a single fish three ways." One. It would lash out at Ma. Two. It would unite farmers behind the DPP, Three. It would attract sympathy votes from moderates within the farming community. Predictably, the first to complain about tghe ad campaign was fruit growers. The prices on the calendar seriously mislead consumers. They depicted the commercial fruit market as in full "fire sale" mode. Some fruit buyers even cited the prices marked in the photos when bargaining with fruit vendors. One has to wonder, how could such a farcical scenario come to pass? No wonder farmers were furious and demanded that fruit not become part of the election campaign.

The DPP made three errors when it produced this smear campaign. First, it was dishonest. It made up fruit prices. Secondly, it knew it could count on the farm vote, but showed farmers little real concern. Thirdly, it made sweeping allegations at odds with the facts. It cited a few exceptions, then depicted them as the rule. Ultimately, these three errors reflect the DPP's "instrumentalism." Farmers are merely election tools. The farm too, is nothing more than an election tool, For the sake of victory, anything may be exploited. If necessary, even morality, integrity, and the interests of the farmers can be sacrificed.

The DPP was determined to lash out at the KMT. But instead it merely hurt farmers. The backlash even hurt the DPP. The "Wasted Labor Calendar" was a total failure. Compared with the "Three Little Pigs" publicity campaign, the fruit calendar's problems were plain to see. The little pigs ad campaign was playful and rich in human interest. It was quite different from the DPP's habitual murderous rage. The fruit calendar engaged in demonization. It was malicious. It was self-pitying. It was ineffective. It failed to win public sympathy. It merely angered farmers, who complained they were being treated like election pawns, It merely reminded people how the DPP manipulates elections. Was this not self-defeating?

The DPP commands most of the farm vote in central and southern Taiwan counties. They are familiar with the language and the local context. But if the DPP is genuinely concerned about farmers, how can it wage such a malicious, ridiculous, and crude election campaign? Fruit prices rise and fall along with changes in the weather, the quantity of the harvest, and the soundness of the distribution system. If the DPP is genuinely concerned about farm income, why not offer a more visionary policy than the KMT? Why not include specific methods for the marketing, freezing, storage, processing of fruits, and the development of the fruit market? Why not win them over by demonstrating the Green Camp's determination and creativity? But the DPP chose not to do this. Instead, it chose to bad-mouth others. It used a calendar to claim that Taiwan fruits are being sold at fire sale prices all year around. This not only infuriated farmers, it showed the public that the DPP is heartless and treats farmers as "straw dogs."

Two ruling party changes have taken place on Taiwan, Blue vs. Green confrontation cannot be eliminated any time soon, But at least people can look forward to more honorable methods of campaigning, Ones that will enable a healthy democracy to flourish on Taiwan. Unfortunately, the DPP's unfounded allegations of "secret meetings with a triad boss" eventually led to a farce. They eventually led to a man of black gold being transformed into a man of virtue. The fruit calendar was an attempt to win the farm vote. The result was bewildered farmers protesting the DPP's lack of character and integrity. Has the DPP learned a lesson from these events?

The DPP hurt farmers. It engaged in Schadenfreude. It kicked farmers when they were down. How much in subsidies to elderly farmers will the DPP need to offer to make up the difference? The DPP's "Wasted Labor Calendar" put a deadly curse on others. It angered everyone who saw it. If anything was "wasted labor," that was it. Tsai Ing-wen had better hand down orders to have the campaign canceled.

甜柿一斤兩元，在詛咒誰？
【聯合報╱社論】 2011.11.28

民進黨近日推出「嘸採工月曆」的選戰文宣，針對台灣四季水果，逐一羅列各月慘跌的行情。其中當季正在熱賣的甜柿，標示著「一斤兩元」的賤價，和產地價每斤四十餘元相較，顯是天壤之別。許多果農為此氣得跳腳，認為這種作法是在「敗市」，影響水果銷售。

民進黨這套文宣的設計，主要用意是在打擊國民黨，把馬政府形容成無能解決農業產銷問題的團隊；同時趁機倒打ＥＣＦＡ一耙，抹黑馬英九的兩岸政績，說台灣農民收益不增反減，根本未受惠於兩岸交流。也正因汙蔑對手的用心太過急切，民進黨的文宣操盤手必須在事實上移花接木、偷斤減兩，甚至必須捏造、偽造價格，才能拼湊出一張超完美的烏賊月曆。然而，過度誇大的結果，不僅降低了文宣的真實感和可信度，更意外打擊到終年辛勞的果農，這恐怕是民進黨始料未及。

以民進黨之善於割喉，用這種手法來打農業議題，想必自以為是「一魚三吃」的必勝戰略：一則損馬，二則鞏固農民票，三則吸引同情農民的中間選票。孰料，率先對這項文宣表示不滿的，就是果農。問題就在，這張編得像價格表一樣的月曆，不僅嚴重誤導消費者的認知，也形同對市售水果下了一道「全面賤售」的咒語，甚至有人以圖上標示的行情向果販詢價。試問，坊面哪來這種天方夜譚的行情？也難怪農民大罵：「選舉別牽拖水果！」

民進黨製作這張抹黑文宣，犯了三大錯誤：一是不誠實，製造不實價格行情；二是自恃擁有基層農民鐵票，其實卻對他們缺乏真誠關懷；三是以偏概全，故意把少許例外狀況說成普遍現象。歸結到底，這三項錯失反映的其實就是民進黨的「工具化主義」：農民只是選舉工具，農業議題也是選舉工具，為了勝選，全都可以拿來消費；必要時，連道德誠信及農民利益都可以犧牲。

想要打擊國民黨，結果卻先傷了農民，自己也因回力反彈而受創，這個「嘸採工月曆」可以說是一個徹底失敗的文宣。與「三隻小豬」的系列宣傳作一對照，水果月曆的病兆即一目了然。小豬文宣訴求的是童趣與人情味，這和民進黨一向的殺氣騰騰截然不同。相形之下，水果月曆訴求的是醜化、惡意、悲情，但事實基礎薄弱，無法將民眾帶入情境，反喚起農民「只是選舉棋子」的感嘆，更讓民眾憶起民進黨操弄選舉的種種惡形惡狀。這豈非弄巧成拙？

民進黨在中南部縣市有廣大農民選票，這與語言和鄉土的親近性等背景有密切關係。但民進黨若真心關切農民權益，怎會用如此惡意、荒謬且粗糙的手法來打這場仗？水果價格的起落，和天候變化、收成數量及產銷體系是否健全均有莫大的關係。民進黨若真的心繫農民收益，何妨提出比國民黨更具遠見的政策主張，包括運銷、冷凍、儲藏、加工、乃至市場開拓的具體辦法，讓民眾了解綠營的用心與創意。民進黨捨此而不為，卻用唱衰的方式，以一紙月曆詛咒台灣四季水果都賤價滯銷；這何止惹農民憤怒，一般民眾都會覺得民進黨不仁，以農民為芻狗！

台灣歷經兩次政黨輪替，就算藍綠對峙一時仍無法消弭，民眾至少期待雙方的角力手段能夠更臻光明磊落，使台灣能逐漸從有機的政治土壤中長出健康的民主果實。遺憾的是，民進黨近日的「密會組頭」事件，最後演成「黑金變好人」的鬧劇收場；這回水果月曆企圖搶攻農民選票，結果反弄得果農怨聲載道，格調、誠信盡失。對民進黨來說，這兩個事件難道沒有值得汲取的教訓嗎？

這種詛咒農民、幸災樂禍、落井下石的政黨，要用多少老農津貼去補洞？這種「詛咒給別人死」的「嘸採工月曆」，人見人厭，恐怕才真的是「嘸採工」。蔡英文還不趕緊下令全面回收？