Election
Time in Taiwan "Except for the difference in language and dress, and the absence of cigar-smoke, it could have been any political rally banquet he had ever seen since he had been a teenage illegal voter. It was a big success; the boys from the precincts came, were fed and liquored, received the Word, and went away full of party spirit. The next day, the work began." -- H. Beam Piper, Gunpowder God Elections in any country are a blast. Here in Taiwan we are one of the world leaders in providing free-wheeling, colorful, candidate-filled political feasts where anything can happen, and always does. On this web page, which I'll be updating as time goes by with new pictures, I've collected some representative advertizing from the local election multiverse. Back to Teaching English in Taiwan Home page |
An abandoned department store hosts ads for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). |
Is it a coincidence that this 3-D ad was erected
in front of another ad? |
A cluster of ads. |
A huge row of ads face a busy intersection. |
An ad featuring the multibillion dollar
boondoggle, the high speed train, as an image of speed and progress. |
On many street corners volunteers wave flags
during rush hour. |
A candidate's sign overlooks a key road in southern Taichung county. |
A DPP candidate asks for your vote. |
The Pope giving a benediction? |
Vamping for votes. |
Here a candidate appears to bless a police
station. |
Adds featuring the KMT mayor of Taichung, Hu
Chih-chiang, are often filled with energy (balding, on right). Here he
promotes a fellow KMT candidate. |
Lin Chia-lung, the DPP candidate for Taichung mayor, likes to appear in athletic poses. |
A DPP candidate endorses his daughter. |
Drivers speed by an ad in downtown Taichung. |
An add for the DPP's Lin Chia-lung says "Enough! Little Hu" using the diminutive form of reference for the older KMT politician. |
One of the things I most enjoy is the
juxtaposition of ads. Here an add for Buddhism stands next to an add
for a candidate. Note that he refers to himself as a "Tiger Warrior."
As if in fear that such aggressive image might give offense, right next
to it is a cartoon tiger so infantile it makes Hello Kitty look
ferocious. Can't say as I would vote for anyone to the left of Hello
Kitty. |
A sound truck driver stops along a busy six lane
road to polish the truck. |
A newspaper add for KMT Mayor Hu of Taichung says that Taichung is hot on the heels of Taipei, represented by a horse, a reference to KMT Mayor Ma of Taipei, the KMT party chairman, whose name means "Horse" in Chinese. |
This add promises that Lin of the DPP will add
50,000 jobs to Taichung. Sure. I believe that. |
Lin of the DPP promises to cut violent crime 50%.
Sure. I believe that. |
This sign DPP candidate's sign emphasizes
Greening the local township, perhaps a pun in that "green" is both a
reference to the environment and to the DPP, part of the pan-green
coalition of pro-Taiwan parties. |
A car carries a sign calling for Taiwan to build national independence. |
A sign overlooks a highway, one of many showing
the candidate doing something athletic. |
Candidates also give out free packs of tissues
with ads on them, a common practice among Taiwanese businesses as well. |
An excellent poster makes the candidate look authoritative, informed, and decisive. |
As we walked through the market, a sound truck
assailed us. |
Moments later another sound truck went by in the
other direction, as if in answer. |
General Patton promises to fight for Sanyi. |
Election HQ is surmounted by an enormous poster. |
"It's Mr. Clean!" exclaimed my uncle when he saw
this poster. |
Overlooking an intersection, a candidate pleads for your vote. |
This sign advertizes the woman, emphasizing her
youth and energy. One of Asia's fascinating contradictions is the
number of females in politics in societies that remain staunchly
pro-male. |
The man in the vest is Mayor Ma Ying-jeou of
Taipei, born in Hong Kong, now the chair of the Chinese Nationalist
Party (KMT) in Taiwan. The slogan says that the world is
changing, and new blood is needed. Below that, the sign says that the
candidate has a UK masters in political economy. Candidates in Taiwan
frequently flaunt their education. |
Two candidates face off over a Taichung intersection. |
Simple banners like this are hung everywhere.
Underneath the three characters of the name are a set of slogans that
say something like Good Heart, Good
Speech, everyone together works for the public benefit. |
Any spare bit of fence or wall will be festooned
with posters. |
A candidate running for Taichung County Chief. Literally. |
An independent candidate for Taichung County
Council. |
A DPP candidate for the Taichung Country Council
running for the seat that represents Tanzi, Daya, and Shengang. |
A KMT candidate's poster covers a building, promising to work for the township with one heart and one mind. |
Like chemotherapy, elections have hideous side
effects. Here a sound truck goes through our neighborhood during the
napping hour in the afternoon. The following day an outraged neighbor
chased one truck down on his motorcycle and bawled out the driver for
waking him up. |
Intersections generally host the biggest signs. |
Candidates are often portrayed in this stylized position of begging for votes. |
At this intersection, everyone is watching you. |
A sound truck fills the morning with
barely-intelligible Taiwanese. |
Advertizements flood an Wufeng intersection. |
Cars rush past as Candidate Liu begs for their
votes. |
As with most candidates, this presentation
includes a slogan about the quality of his previous public service. |
Cars surge down a Taichung street under the watchful eye of a local candidate. |
"Let's go!" English is a sign of youth, hipness
and
international outlook. |
Another feature of many political ads is an
association with the high speed train as a symbol of progress and high
tech. |
Banners and photos line a Tanzi street. |
Look at that smile. Who could say no? |
A New Party ad emphasizes the "New Party Quality
Guarantee." |
A sound truck dodges to the side of the road. In addition to noise pollution, they also snarl traffic and cause accidents. |
One interesting fact -- the DPP candidates appear
without attributes of power like ties, the KMT candidates frequently
appear in ties. |
How many political angels can dance on the end of
a telephone pole? Taiwan has the answer...... |
After the election, all of these banners will disappear overnight as though the election never occurred. |
Just more signs among many.... |
A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate
informs us that she is young and a female university instructor. |
Ads cover each other on a construction site fence. |