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DPP chides MAC
Facebook contest as unification ploy
By Wang Pei-lin and Su Yung-yao / Staff Reporters
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said the Mainland Affairs Council
(MAC) is trying to “gradually unify the two sides of the Strait by connecting
cross-strait culture,” as evidenced by an activity it held on its Facebook page.
The trivia contest, which began on Nov. 9 and closed on Friday, was titled “The
Global Village — Feng Shen Bang (封神榜)” and emphasized the differences in
Internet lingo around the world.
The homepage started with the question: “Did you know Chinese netizens use the
term qiang sha fa (搶沙發) to mean qiang tou xiang (搶頭香)?”
This was followed by a test on the differences in vocabulary usage between
Chinese and Taiwanese netizens.
Qiang sha fa and qiang tou xiang mean to be the first to post a response on a
blog or a forum.
The contest could only be accessed by netizens who “like” the council’s Facebook
page. Comprising 10 questions, it asked for the Chinese Internet lingo
equivalent of items such as instant coffee, hair dryers, roller coasters and
soft-drink cans.
To draw more participants to the event, the council offered movie tickets and
other gifts. The first 200 participants also received a “Door God” figurine.
Critics have said that although it was titled “The Global Village,” it only
asked for the equivalent used in China.
The contest was not widely participated in, with only 13 posts in total, with
one netizen surnamed Lee (李) writing that when asking friends in China about
some of the vocabulary listed in the questions, they also did not know.
DPP caucus whip Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) criticized the council on Saturday,
saying that the agency was wasting public funds and not doing its job.
Tsai said the council was trying to link Chinese culture with Taiwan and
promoting gradual unification by making people understand the different names
and appellations used by the separate cultures.
“This is an obvious attempt to unify China and Taiwan under the table,” Tsai
said.
In response, the council said the era of the global village was a time when one
should understand different cultures, customs and languages, and broaden one’s
views, adding that Taiwanese should not close themselves off.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
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