At an annual conference for ethnic Chinese business leaders held in Taipei Monday, Chen Charng-ven, president of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China, expressed hope that President Ma Ying-jeou could attend the 2011 or 2012 conference to be held in Beijing or Shanghai and meet his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao. Chen also said that if Ma is not able to meet Hu within the next two years, he hoped that Ma would continue to be president after 2012. It is hard to believe that a lawyer would make such a comment, which runs counter to the common sense of democracy. There are many people in Taiwan who adore Chinese officials, and they often like to compare who has met the more senior Chinese officials. Chinese leaders are well aware of the vanity of the Taiwanese and are using the issue as a tool to control and divide them. Should Ma feel depressed for failing to meet China's top leader? Should Taiwanese voters allow him to win a second term just for this reason? What on earth is the logic behind this? (Editorial abstract -- Oct. 19, 2010) 