Netizens panned Chinese Nationalist Party (KTM) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) first TV campaign ad, released on Thursday, saying it showed Lien being arrogant and bragging about his family’s wealth.
Since announcing he would run for Taipei mayor, Lien, son of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), has suffered from having an image as a “princeling” and being reliant on his father, but Sean Lien’s campaign office says it has sought to use that stereotype in his favor.
The commercial, titled “Spreading the Seeds of Hope” (散播希望的種子) and directed by director Hsu Yi-ming (徐一鳴), focuses on the responses of young people asked what they would do if they had a lot of money, what they would do if their father had lots of money and what they would do if they had the kind of money Sean Lien has.
Photo: CNA
Some of the responses in the video said that they would go around with a blonde woman, buy some property for when they retire and tour the world.
Others said that if their fathers were rich they would simply stay at home and count money, speculate on land or stock or live in a mansion in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義區).
On the question of what they would do if they were Sean Lien, some said they felt Sean Lien was “stupid” for running, given the wealth he already enjoys.
The commercial ends with Sean Lien stating: “To be a mayor is not to besiege a castle, but to plant a seed of hope within the heart of every resident.”
Sean Lien campaign director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said the commercial sought to emphasize Lien’s decision to take the more difficult path.
Tsai said Sean Lien has often been misunderstood and criticized by those who do not understand him, but many in politics come from rich backgrounds, adding that Democratic Progressive Party Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) properties were not earned through her pay as a professor, but were a gift from her father, the president of the Hai Ba Wang (海霸王) restaurant chain.
“However, many in the media choose to ignore this, and this is a part where Sean Lien is at a disadvantage,” Alex Tsai said.
Alex Tsai added that the commercial would be aired for five consecutive days.
However, the campaign ad was not well-received by netizens.
Some said they “have never seen an election campaign where the candidate brags about his wealth,” while others said: “It seems being a mayor is beneath him.”
Others said that the Sean Lien camp is simply trying to portray younger people as unintelligent and superficial, which was condescending and arrogant.
Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏), a spokesperson of Sean Lien’s rival, independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), made a jab at Sean Lien’s family wealth, saying that normally it cost between NT$1 million and NT$2 million (US$33,000 and US$66,600) to air a campaign ad, adding that it would cost NT$10 million to air the ad for five consecutive days across all channels.
Sean Lien’s campaign has already spent more on the ad than the NT$12 million in total the Ko office has raised for Ko’s campaign, Chien said.
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