Don’t Blame the Victim – The Diplomat

There is a common saying in Taiwan, “flog both sides 50 times.” It refers to the act of trying to find two sides of a dispute equally at fault, so as to neutralize the conflict. 

But the phrase is not used to applaud someone for moving past finger-pointing to bring peace. Rather, it is used to describe a lazy magistrate who turns a blind eye to fairness, assigns blame where it is not deserved, and absolves the party at fault of responsibility, just to toss the hot potato in the air and avoid any real consequence. 

This is the phrase…