The National Day Preparation Committee on Tuesday unveiled the official logo for this year’s Double Ten National Day. The logo designs are getting worse with each passing year, and “ugly” is the only word that comes to mind.
Let us begin with the colors. Deputy Minister of the Interior Wu Tang-an (吳堂安), secretary-general of the committee, said the subdued “Morandi color palette” was chosen for its calm tone to convey “steadiness and maturity.” In reality, it is more of a pale, grayish blue. Not only is it miles away from the colors of the national flag, it is also depressing. Regarding the shade of red chosen, it is darker than brick red and devoid of any sense of joy. The overlapping blue and red on the logo’s right side clash, while the blue strokes on the left meet without any contrast. It is clearly a sloppy and unprofessional design.
Wu said that the logo features two Chinese characters for 10 (十), rendered with a brush-stroke texture to display creativity and resemble a flag fluttering in the wind, full of vibrant energy like Taiwanese and highlighting Taiwan’s “diversity, freedom and confidence.”
However, the design is reminiscent of the children’s tale The Emperor’s New Clothes — self-congratulatory, when it is actually chaotic and unstructured, like a halfhearted scribble.
Throughout my work in international trade, which includes selling products such as suitcases and golf bags, I have observed and learned from the various tastes of foreign designers, and the flare they put into color and form. The committee, by contrast, seems to believe that simply deviating from traditional rigid and square-shaped characters qualifies as creative design. Misguided imitations are doomed to backfire — not only does the design fail to impress, but it also erases the symbolic imagery of the blue sky, white sun and red earth depicted on the national flag as well as the significance of “Double Ten.”
This year’s Double Ten National Day logo is akin to putting the concept of “pedestrian hell” on full display. It resembles the skid marks left at intersections when scooters weave between cars — not fresh ones, but dried-up traces of tires completely lacking any artistic beauty.
Fang Fu-chuan is an international trader.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
The cancelation this week of President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visit to Eswatini, after the Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius revoked overflight permits under Chinese pressure, is one more measure of Taiwan’s shrinking executive diplomatic space. Another channel that deserves attention keeps growing while the first contracts. For several years now, Taipei has been one of Europe’s busiest legislative destinations. Where presidents and foreign ministers cannot land, parliamentarians do — and they do it in rising numbers. The Italian parliament opened the year with its largest bipartisan delegation to Taiwan to date: six Italian deputies and one senator, drawn from six
Recently, Taipei’s streets have been plagued by the bizarre sight of rats running rampant and the city government’s countermeasures have devolved into an anti-intellectual farce. The Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office has attempted to eradicate rats by filling their burrows with polyurethane foam, seeming to believe that rats could not simply dig another path out. Meanwhile, as the nation’s capital slowly deteriorates into a rat hive, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection has proudly pointed to the increase in the number of poisoned rats reported in February and March as a sign of success. When confronted with public concerns over young
Taiwan and India are important partners, yet this reality is increasingly being overshadowed in current debates. At a time when Taiwan-India relations are at a crossroads, with clear potential for deeper engagement and cooperation, the labor agreement signed in February 2024 has become a source of friction. The proposal to bring in 1,000 migrant workers from India is already facing significant resistance, with a petition calling for its “indefinite suspension” garnering more than 40,000 signatures. What should have been a straightforward and practical step forward has instead become controversial. The agreement had the potential to serve as a milestone in
China has long given assurances that it would not interfere in free access to the global commons. As one Ministry of Defense spokesperson put it in 2024, “the Chinese side always respects the freedom of navigation and overflight entitled to countries under international law.” Although these reassurances have always been disingenuous, China’s recent actions display a blatant disregard for these principles. Countries that care about civilian air safety should take note. In April, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) canceled a planned trip to Eswatini for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s coronation and the 58th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic
RSS