Despite a large number of people calling it ugly on social media, the Changhua County Government’s new mascot has already been pirated by sticker vendors on the Line messaging app.
The mascot, created to attract volunteers for the Changhua Department of Social Affairs, was unveiled last month, followed by an Internet-based poll on its name.
The contest backfired as the mascot triggered a wave of derision on the Professional Technology Temple, the nation’s biggest online academic bulletin board system, with a top comment suggesting it should be named “Doritos,” referring to the US-made tortilla chips.
Photo courtesy of the Changhua County Government
The mascot is based on Changhua’s map, anthropomorphized to have a face and limbs, and wearing baseball cap bearing its name.
Logo pirates were apparently not deterred by the mascot’s lack of popularity, as a sticker virtually identical to its design went on sale through Line for NT$30.
Department Director Wang Lan-hsin (王蘭心) said the county did not authorize the mascot’s design for commercial use or have any role in making the sticker, adding that the naming poll would not conclude until tonight.
“A request will be sent to pull [the sticker] from circulation,” she said. “The county is taking steps to obtain intellectual property protections and does not rule out taking legal actions.”
The county has no plans to monetize the design, and any potential proceeds would be used to help disadvantaged groups, she said, urging people not to buy the Line sticker.
Additional reporting by CNA
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS