A lesson in electoral dignity from Taiwan

What impressed me was not the winning margin, nor that Taiwan had elected its first female president, but the manner in which the defeated Eric Chu conducted himself after the big loss. Did he accuse Tsai of buying votes? Did he insult people who voted for Tsai? Did he mislead the public by claiming that Tsai’s 6.9 million votes didn’t constitute a majority in a total population of 23.46 million? No!
Chu said, “We failed. The Nationalist Party lost the elections. We didn’t work hard enough.” He followed his concession speech by making a long bow.
Concession speeches are unheard of in Thai politics. I just wish that Thai politicians – and especially Democrats – could take defeat as gracefully as Eric Chu.
Somsak Pola