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UN
bid on Aug 31, 2004 UN
bid takes toughened stance By
Cheng Tzu-leong
Government Information Office (GIO) Director-General Lin Chia-lung in
Nicaragua unveiled this year's design for the advertising campaign to support
Taiwan's bid to enter the UN. This year's appeal appears to be much clearer than
the previous ones. It's Taiwan's 12th bid for UN membership. This year's campaign has adopted
a tougher stance -- "Stop political apartheid" -- in the hope that the
world body will cease segregating the 23 million people in Taiwan given its
principle to generalize membership. With this change, the GIO has also adopted a
different campaign strategy in advertising, replacing the traditional low-key,
indirect soft-sell with a tough and direct hard-sell. One of the two news releases issued by the GIO is titled
"Unfair," with a subtitle asking "is it fair for the UN to
exclude Taiwan from the UN?" It's a creative use combining the words
"UN" and "fair." The release goes on to say that as the UN
is a world family, it's unjust to exclude Taiwan's 23 million people. The slogan
used in this campaign is "support Taiwan's participation in the UN."
The logo used is "today's Taiwan, ROC," different from the previous
use of the full name the Republic of China. The other news release states that "authoritarian China cannot
represent democratic Taiwan." It goes on to say that China claims to
represent Taiwan in the UN, but it is not entitled to as the 23 million people
in Taiwan need to have their own voice. This year's advertising campaign for entering the UN was initiated and
executed by the GIO. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan Thinktank, the
Medical Professionals Alliance and communications academics have been invited to
form a review committee, not only to evaluate the creativity of the campaign but
also to assess whether these strategies can effectively convey the country's
appeal in conformity with its foreign policies. Since 1993, Taiwan has tried to put forward motions with the help of its
allies. The country first hoped that the UN General Assembly could establish a
special research committee to study Taiwan's chances of entering the UN. The
advertisement used in 1993 was an image of a multi-seated bicycle with countries
trying to ride uphill with great difficulty because one seat is empty --
implying Taiwan's participation would help the UN and make its operation less
arduous. That year's topic focused on Taiwan's willingness to do something for
the international community, as well as the injustice that China had done to
Taiwan by boycotting its international space. The theme of Taiwan's advertisement in 1994 was a green traffic light. The
campaign urged the UN to lift its ban on Taiwan's entry and allow the nation to
play a more active role in the international community. In 1995, the UN's 50th anniversary, Taiwan's advertisement was a puzzle of
the UN's logo with the number 50 on it. But the puzzle looked incomplete because
the piece for Taiwan was missing, showing that the UN lacks overall
representativeness given Taiwan's absence. In 1996, China repeatedly threatened Taiwan and even launched military
exercises across the Taiwan Strait before the presidential election. To maintain
peace across the Strait and reduce China's hostility, then minister of foreign
affairs John Chang suspended the campaign since entering the UN was not the
government's first priority. The government did not resume its UN campaign until 1999, when the GIO came
up with a large advertising plan. Apart from the traditional method of running
advertisements and articles, the GIO also launched a Web site, held an essay
competition and posted some advertisements online. The theme of its poster advertisement was a pair of ballet shoes, and it
mainly focused on Taiwan's hope to have more space in the international
community. The advertisement showed that Taiwan, just like the lonely shoes, was
ignored by the world, although it was ready to shine on the global stage. The
campaign called on the international community to allow Taiwan to join the UN.
Originally, the advertisement was set to be published during the UN's annual
session. But all propaganda was stopped after the 921 Earthquake occurred. In 2000, a transition of power occurred in Taiwan after the presidential
election. The GIO's international propaganda focused on the development of
Taiwan's democratic politics, and it published no UN advertisements that year. Last year's Taiwan campaign to return to the UN continued the idea of the
traffic light advertisement of 1994. It launched a series of outdoor
advertisements entitled "Taiwan into the UN -- Waiting for the Green
Light," hoping to express its will to all the UN delegations and the
American people. In 2003, the theme of Taiwan's UN campaign -- entitled "Taiwan: Ready
for UN Participation" -- was about letting Taiwan board the train to the
UN. The advertisement was designed as a New York subway ticket, with three major
reasons why Taiwan should be accepted: 1. Taiwan is a major contributor to world
peace and prosperity. 2. The Taiwanese people wish to fulfill our obligations as
responsible members of the world community. 3. Taiwan is already a mature
country of 23 million people. The advertisement explained that Taiwan is
qualified to participate in the UN and is looking for the acceptance of the
world body. The advertisement was posted at the bus stop in front of the UN's
New York headquarters during its annual session. In addition, the government
also ran some radio commercials and an advertisement on the editorial page of
the New York Times. In reviewing Taiwan's UN campaign, we can see that this has been a long and
tough journey. Apart from the outrageous behavior of China, the difficulty also
comes from the fact that a consensus can hardly be reached inside Taiwan itself.
Is Taiwan trying to return to or join the UN? Since the ROC's international
status has already been replaced by the People's Republic of China, returning to
the UN is certainly impossible. Therefore, joining the organization as a new
member state is the best way. However, due to the public's differing views on
national identity, Taiwan often uses the word "participate" rather
than "join" in its campaign. The first step for the nation to join the UN is to reach an internal
consensus and build up people's Taiwan consciousness. As the saying goes,
"God helps those who help themselves." All Taiwanese people should pay
attention to the issue. Recently, the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Preparatory
Committee forced Taiwan to remove its publicity posters from 500 luggage carts
at Athens International Airport. In response, Scott Lee, general manager of
OmniAd Media Inc, immediately told the GIO that his company was willing to
sponsor publicity posters on 100 luggage carts at CKS International Airport and
100 buses as well -- so the Taiwanese people can "judge which side is
right." This was clearly a demonstration of the Taiwanese people's
willpower. Cheng
Tzu-leong is a professor in the department of advertising at National Chengchi
University. TRANSLATED
BY JENNIE SHIH AND EDDY CHANG
A
vote for "Taiwan ROC" By
Rao Kok-sian Some people argue that Taiwan is not the ROC. The reality is that Taiwan
has been the ROC for the past 60 years, even before there was a People's
Republic of China. The ROC is certainly not perfect and has had many faults.
Nevertheless, Taiwanese people have changed, reformed and repaired this ROC and
will continue to do so whenever it suits people's needs. I for one will support
the adaptation of "Taiwan ROC." Those who do not agree that Taiwan is the ROC can always drop the last two
letters, and just use "Taiwan Republic." Rao
kok-sian
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