Government Information Office (GIO) Director-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in Nicaragua unveiled this year's design for the advertising campaign to support Taiwan's bid to enter the UN. This year's appeal appears to be much clearer than the previous ones.
It's Taiwan's 12th bid for UN membership. This year's campaign has adopted a tougher stance -- "Stop political apartheid" -- in the hope that the world body will cease segregating the 23 million people in Taiwan given its principle to generalize membership. With this change, the GIO has also adopted a different campaign strategy in advertising, replacing the traditional low-key, indirect soft-sell with a tough and direct hard-sell.
One of the two news releases issued by the GIO is titled "Unfair," with a subtitle asking "is it fair for the UN to exclude Taiwan from the UN?" It's a creative use combining the words "UN" and "fair." The release goes on to say that as the UN is a world family, it's unjust to exclude Taiwan's 23 million people. The slogan used in this campaign is "support Taiwan's participation in the UN." The logo used is "today's Taiwan, ROC," different from the previous use of the full name the Republic of China.
The other news release states that "authoritarian China cannot represent democratic Taiwan." It goes on to say that China claims to represent Taiwan in the UN, but it is not entitled to as the 23 million people in Taiwan need to have their own voice.
This year's advertising campaign for entering the UN was initiated and executed by the GIO. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan Thinktank, the Medical Professionals Alliance and communications academics have been invited to form a review committee, not only to evaluate the creativity of the campaign but also to assess whether these strategies can effectively convey the country's appeal in conformity with its foreign policies.
Since 1993, Taiwan has tried to put forward motions with the help of its allies. The country first hoped that the UN General Assembly could establish a special research committee to study Taiwan's chances of entering the UN. The advertisement used in 1993 was an image of a multi-seated bicycle with countries trying to ride uphill with great difficulty because one seat is empty -- implying Taiwan's participation would help the UN and make its operation less arduous. That year's topic focused on Taiwan's willingness to do something for the international community, as well as the injustice that China had done to Taiwan by boycotting its international space.
The theme of Taiwan's advertisement in 1994 was a green traffic light. The campaign urged the UN to lift its ban on Taiwan's entry and allow the nation to play a more active role in the international community.
In 1995, the UN's 50th anniversary, Taiwan's advertisement was a puzzle of the UN's logo with the number 50 on it. But the puzzle looked incomplete because the piece for Taiwan was missing, showing that the UN lacks overall representativeness given Taiwan's absence.
In 1996, China repeatedly threatened Taiwan and even launched military exercises across the Taiwan Strait before the presidential election. To maintain peace across the Strait and reduce China's hostility, then minister of foreign affairs John Chang (章孝嚴) suspended the campaign since entering the UN was not the government's first priority.
The government did not resume its UN campaign until 1999, when the GIO came up with a large advertising plan. Apart from the traditional method of running advertisements and articles, the GIO also launched a Web site, held an essay competition and posted some advertisements online.
The theme of its poster advertisement was a pair of ballet shoes, and it mainly focused on Taiwan's hope to have more space in the international community. The advertisement showed that Taiwan, just like the lonely shoes, was ignored by the world, although it was ready to shine on the global stage. The campaign called on the international community to allow Taiwan to join the UN. Originally, the advertisement was set to be published during the UN's annual session. But all propaganda was stopped after the 921 Earthquake occurred.
In 2000, a transition of power occurred in Taiwan after the presidential election. The GIO's international propaganda focused on the development of Taiwan's democratic politics, and it published no UN advertisements that year.
Last year's Taiwan campaign to return to the UN continued the idea of the traffic light advertisement of 1994. It launched a series of outdoor advertisements entitled "Taiwan into the UN -- Waiting for the Green Light," hoping to express its will to all the UN delegations and the American people.
In 2003, the theme of Taiwan's UN campaign -- entitled "Taiwan: Ready for UN Participation" -- was about letting Taiwan board the train to the UN. The advertisement was designed as a New York subway ticket, with three major reasons why Taiwan should be accepted: 1. Taiwan is a major contributor to world peace and prosperity. 2. The Taiwanese people wish to fulfill our obligations as responsible members of the world community. 3. Taiwan is already a mature country of 23 million people. The advertisement explained that Taiwan is qualified to participate in the UN and is looking for the acceptance of the world body. The advertisement was posted at the bus stop in front of the UN's New York headquarters during its annual session. In addition, the government also ran some radio commercials and an advertisement on the editorial page of the New York Times.
In reviewing Taiwan's UN campaign, we can see that this has been a long and tough journey. Apart from the outrageous behavior of China, the difficulty also comes from the fact that a consensus can hardly be reached inside Taiwan itself. Is Taiwan trying to return to or join the UN? Since the ROC's international status has already been replaced by the People's Republic of China, returning to the UN is certainly impossible. Therefore, joining the organization as a new member state is the best way. However, due to the public's differing views on national identity, Taiwan often uses the word "participate" rather than "join" in its campaign.
The first step for the nation to join the UN is to reach an internal consensus and build up people's Taiwan consciousness. As the saying goes, "God helps those who help themselves." All Taiwanese people should pay attention to the issue. Recently, the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Preparatory Committee forced Taiwan to remove its publicity posters from 500 luggage carts at Athens International Airport. In response, Scott Lee (李世揚), general manager of OmniAd Media Inc (柏泓媒體), immediately told the GIO that his company was willing to sponsor publicity posters on 100 luggage carts at CKS International Airport and 100 buses as well -- so the Taiwanese people can "judge which side is right." This was clearly a demonstration of the Taiwanese people's willpower.
Cheng Tzu-leong is a professor in the department of advertising at National Chengchi University.
TRANSLATED BY JENNIE SHIH AND EDDY CHANG
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