Controversial TV spot gives DPP members the chills

The use of the national anthem in the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) latest campaign TV commercial has aroused mixed responses from both the pan-green and pan-blue camps.

"The national anthem in the TV commercial has indeed aroused mixed reactions from both camps. Some of our own party members even changed the channel while the commercial was being broadcast. But ... the commercial effect of this advertisement itself is successful," DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said yesterday.

The use of the national anthem as the backdrop of the commercial was intended to tone down the party's pro-independence image and appeal to so-called "middle ground" voters who haven't decided which presidential candidate to support.

The national anthem used to be the anthem of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and is full of KMT symbols, including lines such as "Three Principles of the People is what the aim of my party shall be."

The commercial shocked hardcore pro-independence supporters, who were upset by the DPP's use of a KMT symbol, while pan-blue supporters chastised the DPP for being disingenuous.

The commercial has been running on major cable TV channels during the prime time hours since last Friday and is expected to finish broadcast today.

There was speculation the anthem in the commercial was sung by Taiwanese pop diva Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹).

Chang, after singing the anthem during President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inauguration in 2000, was put under a media blackout in China and was subsequently blocked from performing in China for one year.

The DPP said yesterday the song for the commercial was sung by a young female party member. The party said it wanted to respect the political sensitivities of pop stars who fear being banned from the lucrative market across the Strait.