Just how serious is anyone's guess, especially considering that another of the KMT's best-selling items is a pair of rather natty Lien Chan (連戰) and James Soong (宋楚瑜) battery powered dolls. Press a button and the political allies dance a jig to a somewhat offbeat and tinny tune. All of which is pretty comical to begin with, but when their batteries run low it becomes rather alarming, and, some might feel, all too lifelike.
Ranging in price from NT$5 to NT$50,000, the manufacturers of the KMT products might be under the impression that they are geared towards the masses, but the numbers point to a very different story. To date, sales of KMT products have only managed to generate NT$5 million nationwide. KMT staffers and supporters, however, remain upbeat.
"I'm sure as election day draws nearer you'll see a marked rise in sales of KMT paraphernalia," Chen said.
It's not only supporters of the political parties who have been grabbed by the current trend in election memorabilia. It hasn't gone unnoticed by some of the nation's more enterprising schemers and scammers. Four years ago relatively small amounts of knock-off A-Bian and KMT paraphernalia hit the market, but this year there has been a marked development in the way in which counterfeit goods are produced.
The largest consignment of such goods to appear so far came to light earlier this week. Customs officials in Taichung foiled a plan to flood the market with fake A-Bian products made in a factory in China when they intercepted a shipment of more than 24,000 A-Bian cuddly dolls aboard a ship registered in Shanghai. According to customs officials, those involved in the counterfeit smuggling operation planned to sell the dolls for NT$250 per unit, which, if successful would have netted them a hefty tax-free NT$6 million. Nearly enough to finance their own knock-off election campaign.
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