Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅) of the Democratic Progressive Party on Saturday gave film distributors permission to use his image to promote horror film Child’s Play after memes emerged linking him to Chucky, the killer doll in the movie franchise.
Wang said that he has not been part of a commercial advertising campaign before and he was not aware that he had generated a buzz online, as he rarely used social media or a smartphone.
“It is my job to protect the interests of Taipei residents, so I would be happy to be their Chucky to scare the mayor, city officials and others in authority so they do not abuse their power,” Wang said.
Photo: Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei Times
“Somebody needs to keep people with power in check,” he said.
Film distributors contacted him about an ad campaign and he agreed on condition that he does not receive payment and would not be asked to work on it until the city council is out of session, he said.
“From what I understand, Chucky was a good doll until it was possessed by an evil spirit... I am an easy-going guy when I am not working in the city council, but when I am asking the tough questions, I have a bit of a mean streak,” he said.
“The project sounds like fun and Taiwanese know how to have a good time, even when things are tough,” he said. “We understand that having a sense of humor is a good thing.”
Asked how he feels about the Internet memes, which link him to Chucky’s snarl and long, unruly hair, Wang said: “As an elected representative, I am fine with the way people see me and I respect their right to have harmless fun.”
“I happen to be a good guy who is possessed by my responsibilities,” Wang said. “I am not afraid of the dark.”
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS