The Taipei City Government’s Hakka Affairs Commission apologized and took down a billboard at 9pm on Wednesday, in response to criticism it resembled a renowned Ezaki Glico Co advertisement in Osaka, Japan, the sixth generation of which had been unveiled in the city that day.
The Ezaki Glico billboard, featuring a running man with his hands raised, has remained in place since it was first put up in 1935, undergoing multiple revisions to commemorate different events.
The company is a renowned sweets company based in Japan.
Photo: Internet screengrab
The commission’s Hakka Cultural Foundation admitted to a faulty review process and said it would reprimand the contracted company, adding that aside from posting an apology on Facebook, it would also apologize to Ezaki Glico through other channels.
Some netizens said they did not know what Japanese tourists would think of Taiwan if they had passed through the area.
Other netizens said they did not understand why the government would plagiarize a Japanese idea when Taiwan has excellent illustrators.
Photo provided by Internet user
The foundation said that the billboard was placed on the outer walls of the Hakka Cultural Park, adding that it had been subcontracted to a sales and promotion company.
The foundation said it was given a preview of the product, but had not realized that it was a copy of another product with such history, adding that it had immediately taken the billboard down, roughly nine hours after it was put up.
The foundation promised an internal review and said it would seek compensation from the company it subcontracted.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by