Glove puppets win Taiwan icon election

President Chen Shui-bian and Premier Su Tseng-chang jointly announced the results of the first phase of the "Show Taiwan to the World" campaign in a ceremony held Feb. 23 at the Office of the President. Launched last year by the Government Information Office (GIO), it consisted in asking Taiwanese netizens to vote on which of 24 different images most distinctively symbolize Taiwan. The selected icons will be used by the government and others to promote the nation internationally.

Results of the voting, which ran from Dec. 16 until Feb. 15, were made public at the GIO Web site Feb. 17. With some 780,000 people voting, an image depicting the folk art of glove puppetry--used in a TV series currently being broadcast in the United States--has emerged as the top choice of the people, garnering roughly 130,000 votes.

The ceremony featured live performances of glove puppetry by the Pili Puppetry Troupe and Hsiao Hsi Yuan Puppet Theater, which specialize, respectively, in TV productions with modern special effects and live shows in the classical tradition.

Receiving 118,000 votes, the runner-up was an image of Yushan, or Jade Mountain, the highest peak in Asia east of the Himalayas. In third place, with over 54,000 votes, was Taipei 101, the world's tallest building.

In the next phase of the campaign, kicking off Feb. 24, each of the top five images selected in phase one will be incorporated into a variety of graphics. The public will then make a final vote based on the creative ways in which the images can be used.

Noting Taiwan's fifth-place ranking in the 2005 Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum, Su said at the ceremony that Taiwan's success in marketing its information-technology products all over the world has not translated into a distinctive, positive impression of Taiwan in the international community. The premier expressed the hope that the campaign will not only help "show Taiwan to the world" but also help "enhance understanding of the country." The president, meanwhile, said that he has been supporting the campaign by, for example, making references to it during his New Year's Day address and in his weekly online report. This campaign has proven to be "all the more meaningful to Taiwan in the age of globalization," Chen said. He urged the Taiwanese people to maintain their Taiwanese identity as they adjust to globalization trends.

In an accompanying press release, GIO Minister Cheng Wen-tsang expressed his thanks for the public's enthusiastic participation. He called it a highly meaningful event that can help the Taiwanese people rediscover aspects of their country of which they can feel proud, while showcasing the diversity and richness of Taiwanese culture.