The "God Pig", as he's been nicknamed, after the pigs fattened and then ritually killed for local religious festivals, is going for the younger set with this ad again. Like many local ads, it uses the theme of hope, and says nothing about specific policies -- even in the abstract, nothing like "I'll attack high housing prices" or "I'll clean up the Keelung River". Just sheer vagueness. No wonder all polls show him ten points down.
The final image shows Lien (who's lost a lot of weight, or else some really expensive software has been used) standing among a crowd of young people, lily-white. The KMT vision of Taiwan.....
Other news: KMT radio host threatened with party discipline for criticizing the party's candidate in the Taipei mayoral election. Also looks like Lien's campaign is starting to fray under stress. What an awful candidate he is, and yet, he's gonna collect a lot of votes.
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6 comments:
Another creepier interpretation of the graphics in this video:
The twin scenes where arguing citizens stop fighting, presumably because they are awed by the amazingness that is Sean Lien, and the scene where the couple get married and have a baby and are shut away in a house looking out a window, sure read to me like "everybody get in line, do what we say, live normal lives, kowtow to the Establishment. No alternative choices are encouraged."
And of course, with all those lily white youngsters, the Establishment is hell bent on making the new normal "act as Chinese as possible".
Floggings will continue until you accept your leader.
What with the Disney-choir crescendo and revival of plant life I'm disappointed Lien appeared in a white T-shirt and jeans rather than Jesus robes.
Even in this intentionally innocuous advertisement, the Lien campaign displays some interesting ideological idiosyncrasies. The social changes he displays are (1) people ceasing to argue about politics (2) PEOPLE WEIGHED DOWN BY TOO MANY CHOICES HAVING THEIR OPTIONS REDUCED AND STRAIGHTENED OUT FOR THEM AND SUDDENLY THEY GET JOBS and (3) an old neighborhood getting flattened and replaced with skyscrapers, despite this type of urban renewal causing more protests than any other local issue.
(A couple marrying and having a baby (4) is intrinsically good provided they love each other, but the campaign strategy of implying your election will cause fertility has to be 10,000 years old or more!)
Subtitle: Taipei is our home.
Subtitle: It's already full of energy, growth, and direction.
Male Singer: A flower can't keep going without sunlight.
Female Singer: A person can't keep going without hope.
Male: Seeds lightly fly away in the wind
Both: And fall on the parched earth.
Subtitle: The hope of the citizens is our responsibility.
(Lien's Shirt: Planting the seeds of hope.)
Choir: Planting the seeds of hope.
Choir: Delivering them everywhere.
Choir: We are all the light of hope.
Choir: Lighting up Taipei together.
Choir: Lighting up Taipei together.
Argument Subtitle: Turning rifts into the power of cohesion.
Roadmap Subtitle: Giving everyone direction to strive for.
Skyline Subtitle: Bringing prosperity and continuous growth.
Family Subtitle: Giving the youth in Taipei real hope.
Even if you love each other having a kid is not necessarily intrinsically good.
Otherwise I agree with all of the above.
Methinks his idea of "people ceasing to argue about politics" is "eventually my dad and his cronies will push them into shutting up. ACCEPT YOUR LEADER."
Michael, the video link seems to be dead
Ok, Sean Lien makes good commercials, no question about that. But will people look back at his election as the day "we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth."
That's the mark of a true politician.
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