The 2000 March presidential election created three political stars in the DPP, but the popularity of these leaders doesn't always match that of their "twin" impersonators -- Bacy Tang (
Such popularity, however, would never have been possible during the KMT political regime.
"The invisible ban on making fun of our political leaders has been gradually relaxed since the increase in call-in shows debating various political controversies," Kao said, adding that proposals for programs featuring political satire used to be the least likely to be approved by TV executives.
Kao, a stellar figure in Taiwan's entertainment world for more than 20 years, whose golden years as a star had passed, has recently found new fame by impersonating Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄).
"We used to impersonate politicians privately, but we've never expected that it would become public [on TV] and become so popular," Ni said, adding that impersonation is just one type of performing art to a veteran actor like him.
Social critic Kevin Tsai (
As a writer and a TV host, Tsai gave high scores to the production of current impersonation shows, saying "their quality is far better than other TV and news programs."
Ni, who has been in show business for over 30 years, is one of the few male artists who specializes in impersonating female politicians.
His impersonation of Vice President Annette Lu (
When playing Lu', Ni has to "suck in my gut and imagine Lu as the young British Queen Elizabeth II. In addition, I tried to act out her inner resentment by carefully studying her past political experiences and an elder single woman's wish to get married some day."
For his part, Tang leapt to fame from nowhere by impersonating President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Tang does his impersonation so well that Chen once jokingly argued with Tang during a presidential event that he "deserves a share of Tang's earnings."
"My performance, in a sense, has helped soften the president's `would-be-uptight' image by becoming another A-bian that is cute, funny and easy to get along with," Tang said.
Audiences in Taiwan have warmly embraced the concept of "entertainment politics." Kao believes it helps "remove the distance between the public and politicians."
Tang said that "the more relaxed people are when they look at politics, the more democratic and progressive a society can be."
Echoing Tang's view, Tsai said that "since politics has occupied a great part of public [media] resources, its surplus value should be utilized. Why not amuse the public by letting them laugh at some useless politicians?"
But being someone else is not easy. All three say they have to work hard to please their audience.
Tang said that, in the very beginning, he had to forcibly pull down his lower lip, grin with only his lower teeth visible and tilt his head to the side when waving.
"The way Chen smiles is very different from mine," he said.
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