Politicians seeking to foster more personal connections with voters are turning themselves into cartoon characters to help improve their images.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs' Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wong Chung-chun (
PHOTO: LI MING-HSIEN,TAIPEI TIMES
Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) has fashioned himself as a sumo wrestler for his cartoon alter ego.
But don't even think about copying his idea: aides were quick to point out the character has been copyrighted and is not to be imitated.
Followers of KMT Legislator Chu Chun-hsiao (朱俊曉) can even express their support by wearing fake tattoos, or mail letters with specially made stamps of Chu in cartoon form.
"Each stamp has a different kind of Chu `smiley' for voters to fall in love with," he says.
Or for those KMT supporters not dedicated enough to wear their support on their skin, they might like to download a cartoon image of KMT Legislator Chang Sho-wen (
Even Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
KMT Legislator Lwo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄) attests to the cartoons' effectiveness, saying that since coming out with a cartoon version of himself as a bear, supporters now say that "the bear is here" when he arrives.
DPP Lawmaker Cheng Ying (陳瑩) has had trouble keeping enough of her "Baby Chen Ying" lunar calendars in stock. Last year supporters quickly snatched up all 7,000 copies that she had printed.
The designers of the cartoons are as diverse as the handouts that they are created for. DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling's (
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS