A pop-up card designed by illustrator Tonn Hsu (許彤) depicting Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) has become popular on social media.
Chen heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, which is in charge of combating the spread of COVID-19.
A survey released late last month by the New Power Party showed that Chen had an approval rating of 79.9 percent.
Photo: Tang Shih-ming, Taipei Times
After Hsu shared images of the card with her Facebook fan page — along with printable images containing empty voice balloons for fans to fill in their own messages — several fans left replies and photographs of their printouts.
One fan — a high-school student — wrote “Pass with flying colors” in the message balloon to encourage fellow students ahead of annual tests.
“This is super therapeutic,” another student wrote in response.
Photo courtesy of Chen Ming-hsiung
Another fan wrote that they liked the card so much they printed 10 copies.
“It looks so real. After you fold it together and place it on your desk, it looks like Chen Shih-chung is really there in front of you holding a news conference,” they wrote.
Another fan said that they would print a copy and leave it on their coworker’s desk with a message reminding them of good health practices.
“I’m going to write: ‘When you sneeze, please cover your mouth,’” they wrote.
Others said they used the cards to share general messages of good health, peace and safety.
In Changhua, cafe owner Chen Ming-hsiung (陳明雄) shared images online of his latte art depicting the minister’s likeness.
Speaking with reporters on March 3, Chen Ming-hsiung (陳明雄) said he felt very proud of the nation’s achievements in managing the spread of COVID-19, and wanted to thank the minister.
Chen Shih-chung had brought honor to Taiwan, which was once predicted to be one of the countries that would be most affected by the disease, but has instead been donating supplies to other countries, demonstrating the nation’s prowess in disease prevention to the world, he said.
Having always loved painting as a child, Chen Ming-hsiung was excited when he first encountered latte art and learned he could bring his love of art into his business.
Over the past six years he has made more than 8,000 cups of coffee with latte art, he said, adding that his depiction of Chen Shih-chung was cup 8,635.
In making the latte art of Chen Shih-chung he started by drawing the image on paper with a pen, and then again on paper with espresso, before finally taking on the challenge of drawing it in the foam of a latte, he said, adding that it took him 15 minutes to complete it.
When others saw the photograph of the latte art they immediately recognized it as Chen Shih-chung, he said.
“This is one cup of coffee that can stop COVID-19,” he said.
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