Originally Posted by
reedak
The inhabitants of a remote village used to bathe in a nearby river. To keep all the people, particularly the womenfolk, safe during bathing, the village elders enacted a law stipulated that anybody caught peeping at the opposite sex during bathing would get one stroke of the cane on his bottom by the village chief.
Lately, an increasing number of women complained that they were being spied upon by a masked voyeur hiding among the tall grass at the river bank. Not only had the women, the men had also complained they were being spied upon during bathing.
A group of young men decided to set a trap to catch the peeping Tom. One evening, they got a few female relatives to bathe in the river while they hid at strategic locations near the river. After a while, they saw a masked figure creeping like a rat towards the tall grass at the river bank.
The leader of the group shouted: "Catch him! Catch him!" At once, all the other men surrounded the hiding place of the masked voyeur. The peeping Tom put up a fierce struggle but was finally overpowered by the young men.
When they removed the mask, they were shocked to find that the voyeur was their village chief. Showing no sign of remorse and shame, the village chief shouted at them: "What's all the farce about? All people spy on each other, even on friends."
By now, all the other villagers heard the commotion and flocked to the river bank. Among them was the village chief's brother who was often at loggerheads with him. Surprisingly, he defended the village chief this time: "Big Brother, you should stop apologizing, stop being defensive. You have done nothing wrong!"
Turning to the crowd that had gathered around the village chief, he said: "My brother is not doing this for the fun of it. The reality is he has saved many lives not just in my family but also in your families and throughout the whole village. What happens if potential terrorists try to fool us by disguising as our people with amazingly lifelike, custom-made latex masks? When they wash their faces during bathing, they may unwittingly unmask their real identity."
The village chief's cousin also came to his defence: "This type of action keeps our people safe. Some immigrants and tourists could be AI-powered robots sent here for espionage or terrorist activities. Moreover, our Dear Leader, the Old Man of the Mountain, has told us that 'all nations spy on each other'. In short, people and nations spy, even on friends."
The village chief and his supporters claimed the village tradition gave him immunity from prosecution, arguing that his actions were part of his official duties to deter espionage and terrorism. The majority of villagers, however, disagreed and insisted that nobody was above the law. Hence, despite his vehement denial of any wrongdoing, he was led back to the village to be punished by himself with one stroke of the cane on his own bottom.
The above event was related by a villager to the priest when he passed by the river, and saw a group of youths chasing and struggling with a masked man.
Political Satire: The Old Man of the Mountain -- Spying on each other (互相监视)
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