Long day

I walked home from the hospital in the rain. My heart was heavy, for it was such a long, long day...

It started with a trip, long trip, to a hospital in southern Taipei, where we were recommended a surgeon specialised in the latest radiotherapy treatment for cancer. We took the taxi, to cut the traveling time, even so it took over half an hour to cross the entire city, and the traffic was very smooth. It was the first time since my return that I entered downtown Taipei...

On the way we passed the crematorium, where dad was cremated almost four years ago. I did not say anything, but from the look of mum's face, I could see she was thinking probably the same as I did. I touched her arm to comfort her.

We didn't have to wait at te hospital, and were called in. The neurosurgeon, in his forties or so, sporting a little beard around the chin, was extremely receptive and kind. He took a look at the latest scans and shared with us his opinion, and recommended the treatment we had heard about: the cyberknife.

It could be done within two, three days, for an hour or so a day. And it could all be done next week, after mum conducts further and more details scans to pinpoint the exact location(s?) where the cancer has spread to. There is one confirmed area, T2, just behind the throat and windpipe. But another suspected region is just a bit lower, just behind the small intestines. Both regions are "blind spots" that traditional surgery or radiotherapy cannot effectively reach. But the cyberknife can be extremely precise and target a specific area. There is around five percent of risk of damage to the throat and/or intestines, but generally the results have been very promising.

Mum and I left the hospital, buoyed by the hope of another new treatment that may be able to rid of her cancer, at least around the spine area. We headed back and for the first time I accompanied her to vote.

I could not go inside the polling station, as I have no papers and am not eligible to vote. So I watched from behind a glass window how mum limped on her cane toward the booth and afterwards put three pieces of paper in three separate ballot boxes, one for the president and vice president, one for the legislature, one for political party.

It was a nerve wracking four hours since the opening of the polls at four in the afternoon. The difference was so close in the beginning, and then by five or so, the gap began to widen. The incumbent, pro-China party began to lead. Last I saw, the Nationalist Party of China (KMT) was leading by over six hundred thousand votes, or by over seven percent.

Again, the country is divided... A very blue/pro-China/pro-Business north and a very green/pro-Taiwan south. They say the big businesses leaders who overwhelmingly supported the KMT swung the votes. Together with the tacit support of the Chinese government, they chartered flights to transport employees back to Taiwan to vote. Vote for the pro-China, pro-unification, pro-big business party. Some report the Chinese government has pressured big businesses which have a lot of investment and interest in China to return a "favourable" result, or else. And it appears to have worked...

The opposition pro-Taiwan party of Tsai Ing-Wen still garnered some 46% of the votes. With the donations of the "common people", calls for justice and equality, lessening of the income gap, she fought an honourable campaign, and attracted the support of noted scholars and democracy activists. But that is not enough. Not enough to overwhelm the power and wealth of big business and entrenched influence of the KMT....

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The KMT really did win, with 52% of the votes. There have been no irregularities, no major incidences of riots or disorder.

The people have spoke, And what was said is to my disappointment, for the majority, though not by much, seem to want peaceful and closer ties with China. Even so, there are still almost fifty precent of the population who do not want that, and who voted for the opposition, who will for the next four years still be he opposition.

I fear that the KMT has now power in the president and also a majority in the legislature , which basically allows them power to do whatever they want...

The entire democratic process, from campaigning to the elections themselves have been rather fair and free. And relative calm reigns over the island as people go back to their daily lives after all this furore and noise. It really does show how mature democracy and the people's believe in the democratic process has become, and how the minority accepts the majority opinion, even to their great dismay and fears...

I can only hope that, as the KMT promises, it will do what is best for the interests of this nation and its people. I can only hope that Taiwan's sovereignty and dignity will be safeguarded, and that our freedoms will continue to thrive and can continue to be enjoyed...