The last weeks have seen something of a revival of "cosplay" politicking. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (
Hsiao, who is one of the DPP's top campaign-chest fillers, must be delighted that she has finally found something to do with her time and money that gets her television coverage as she builds her chunk of the DPP empire -- other than dressing up in the same baseball gear or deflecting anger over pan-blue-camp pilgrimages to Beijing.
But these Charlie's Angels wannabes, like so many other politicians, seem to lack insight into their source material and a sense of irony, which begs the question: Who is their Charlie?
In general, however, cosplay campaigning can be tremendously effective. Before last December's local government elections, the Taipei Times ran a photograph of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (
On this score, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
But Ma's baggy shorts and running vest will be good enough to get him into the Presidential Office, unlike former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Fading, it seems, are the days when a bunch of DPP wowsers can dress up in kinky leather garb while preaching against social vices. Fading also are the days when DPP figureheads can dress as the dapper crew of the JCS (James Cameron Ship) Titanic, apparently entirely oblivious of the subtext -- which was a pity for them, because most of that crew indeed came a cropper, politically speaking.
As the electorate grows more cynical and detached from the political process, we are likely to see fewer Chen Shui-bians daring to dress as Superman, or Lee Teng-huis presenting a hybrid of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Maximus. The Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) late grab for attention with its "Taiwan shirt" -- a disastrous ensemble that inexplicably ripped off Sun Yat-sen (
Still, maybe there's currency in cosplay for warming the permafrost of cross-strait relations. Chinese President Hu Jintao (
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