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Ma campaign banner triggers uproar

Democratic Progressive Party legislators, from right to left, Yeh Yi-ching, Wang Shu-hui and Hsieh Hsin-ni, yesterday accuse Chinese Nationalist Party presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's campaign of running ads that are insulting to women. PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday admitted that a billboard put up for his campaign near the Love River in Kaohsiung was inappropriate, but said he did not know about the slogan in advance.

The KMT Kaohsiung City Council caucus put up a sign with a pun on an aggressive Chinese swear word -- on a wall along the riverbank.

The slogan attracted criticism from residents and women's groups, who called the ad humiliating and insulting.

The caucus took down the billboard last night.

"I didn't know about the billboard until it was taken down. I think it was the right decision to remove the billboard," Ma said when asked for comment.

Even after the billboard was removed, KMT caucus coordinator Huang Po-lin (黃柏霖) defended the slogan, arguing that it was meant to relay Ma's deep affection for the country in a creative way. The public should not take it the wrong way, Huang said.

Cheng Kuang-feng (鄭光峰), head of the DPP's Kaohsiung chapter, condemned the KMT for insulting Kaohsiung residents.

Women's Awakening Foundation director Lin Su-hui (林夙慧) said the use of the slogan amounted to negative campaigning because it was a derogatory to women.

One Kaohsiung resident, who did not give his name, agreed that the slogan was offensive and said the KMT should not set a bad example for children and others.

KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said the party would talk to its Kaohsiung chapter about its campaign methods.

"KMT members have creative ways of showing their support, but since some people were upset by the ad, we will make sure this doesn't happen again," Su said.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers held a press conference yesterday to urge Ma to apologize to the public.

"[The ad] was a serious insult to Taiwanese women," DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) said.

"How is Ma supposed to educate the next generation if he is elected president?" she said.

Yeh said the ad was not the first time that insulting language had been used by Ma's campaign.

His campaign also used the name "Kan Ling Yang" (趕羚羊) for a Web site radio station aimed at attracting young voters. The site drew the ire of many, including women's groups, because the pronunciation of the name in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) means "fuck your mother."

Ma campaigners said the name reflected "the creativity of youth" and was not offensive. The name comes from a Chinese folk song.

"`Bullshit' has also been used as a Ma campaign slogan. Do Ma's campaigners really need to go so low?" DPP Legislator Wang Shu-hui (王淑慧) asked.

"Shit" sounds like "Hsieh," referring to DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).

DPP Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) said the KMT campaigners use of such language was indicative of the way they think of women.

"It's nothing but chauvinism," she said.

She said the KMT's attitude to women was no different from how the Japanese treated comfort women during World War II.

Additional report ing by Bao Chieng-hsin and Lee Kai-chu.
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