From Michael Turton.
Really. Ma should be defeating SPECTRE or something rather than running for president. View from Tawian has lots of stuff on the election, but I thought this picture was cool enough to post without having anything to say.
Cool Taiwan election stuff
I was a lot more impressed by the poster until I noticed the chairs around it: It looks a lot larger than it is.
You’re right, though: you half-expect that flying coattail to reveal a holster….
The picture reminds me of Liu Chunhua’s “Chairman Mao Goes to Anyuan”. Wonder how that would play over in Tainan, or anywhere else in Taiwan, for that matter. If anyone is curious about Liu’s painting/poster, it can be viewed at Stefan Landsberger’s Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages under Mao Cult (follow the links).
Thanks Chris, that’s classic.
Michael
What is interesting is that Ma’s posters are all “larger than life” while Hsieh takes a more subdued, traditional approach in his posters. I saw posters while in Taiwan, and pictures after the fact, and it was always Hsieh with a white background and black text (although, occasionally, you’d find a more colorful poster). You can find a large array of Ma posters, however, with him posed with aboriginals, various working sectors, etc., and this just represents how the campaign is currently running: Ma is winning (in my opinion) because of his ability to draw in the individual Taiwanese, while Hsieh has been, mainly, focusing on attacking Ma’s credibility.
Corey,
Yes, Ma does really seem to be working on his image. One of the things that always struck me about Taiwan politics (not that I pay much attention to it) is how bland all the politicians are. Part of this is that they have such a short democratic tradition, but I find it interesting how American pols are always being called the next Kennedy or the next Carter, but Ma is the first Taiwan pol that I can imagine someone being the “next” of, at least in terms of image.