Celebrity designer Demos Chiang (蔣友柏) described Taiwan’s government as “the most outdated brand” during an outspoken speech at a symposium on innovative management held by the New Taipei City Government (新北市) yesterday.
Chiang, a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and founder of a well-known local design corporation, DEM Inc (橙果), was invited to address a conference room packed with government officials on his ideas of “brand innovation and management” yesterday morning.
Drawing an analogy between brand management and the Taiwanese government’s performance, Demos Chiang said that he felt that the latter could be the most outmoded brand because it had always been “playing it safe.”
Citing as an example a watch New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) gave him before he went onto the stage, Chiang said the design of the gift was utterly “ghastly.”
At the time of his comment, Chu had already left the symposium for other scheduled events.
Turning to the government’s handling of the issue of granting paid typhoon leave, Demos Chiang vented his discontent by saying that he was always “pissed off and furious” whenever the government announced the closure of offices due to typhoons, because there was already not enough time to get work done.
When asked by a participating official about how he would build the “brand of the government” if he were elected city mayor, he said he would by no means take up the mayoral position, which he said only offered meager paychecks while serving as a long-time target of public criticism.
“You must break the norm,” Demos Chiang repeatedly said in his 30-minute speech, adding that public servants should think outside the box.
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