By Liau Y-sing
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Shoes fly and blows rain down,while a kung fu style kick sails across a room thick withjeers, jibes and coarse language.
It's fight night on Taiwan television as parliament gets insession and crowds of fans are tuning in across the oceans.
In Southeast Asia, government and trade ties with China maybe at an all-time high, but Taiwanese legislative fight scenesand political talkshows are a big hit on cable television.
The run-up to Taiwan's presidential election on Saturdayhas been no less eventful. An education ministry official hadto resign for saying opposition Nationalist Party candidate MaYing-jeou's father was a whoremonger.
Laughs are certain and entertainment guaranteed, but theseTaiwanese shows are also regarded as a picture of truedemocracy at work, with lawmakers free to trade barbs andpunches in parliament and politicians to sling muck ontalkshows.
The sight of stiff suits in fist fights is a big pull inMalaysia and Singapore, where about a quarter of Malaysia'spopulation of 26 million and more than three-quarters ofSingapore's 4 million are ethnic Chinese.
Lively debates on politics and TV shows with entertainersimitating key political figures are rare in Malaysia andSingapore, with the media and legislature largely controlled bythe government.
"I like watching Taiwan's parliament better than ours,"said Wong Wei Hoong, a 37-year old Malaysian ethnic Chinesedata maintenance executive.
"They can say whatever they want about President ChenShui-bian or his rival Ma Ying-jeou, which is not done inMalaysia," he added.
Many overseas Chinese in countries like Malaysia,Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand also speak Hokkien,essentially the same as the Taiwanese dialect once marginalisedin favour of Mandarin and now increasingly spoken in theisland's political arena.
Taiwan's colourful political scene contrasts sharply withmost Southeast Asian countries, as well as Communist-run China.
"It's funny and actually quite intelligent because theyleverage on real political events and make fun of it. I watchit because it's something we don't get on local TV. Our TVstations can't do it," said 20-something Singaporean TylerThia.
Malaysia's parliamentary sessions are usually a dullaffair, with middle-aged men in drab suits giving ramblingspeeches while some of their counterparts doze or simply do notturn up.
In Singapore, the ruling People's Action Party has almostevery seat in parliament.
Malaysia and Singapore do not have formal diplomaticrelations with Taiwan, yet trade and cultural ties are close.
But not everyone is a fan of Taiwan's political antics.
"I feel embarrassed as a Chinese," said Malaysian WendyWong, a 56-year-old housewife. "How can educated people behavethis way?"
(Additional reporting by Yvonne Cheong in Singapore;Editing by Lee Chyen Yee and Ben Blanchard)
