The Presidential Race

Taiwan will elect a new president on March 22 (the day of the memorial!) Rather than get into the politics of it (ahem) I will just comment on a couple of uniquely Taiwanese features of this election.

Check out the campaign poster (OK, I found it online but I drive by an identical one daily):



See how the candidates wear a goofy polarfleece vest and raise their fist to the camera? In almost all picutures, the candidates for both parties wear a goofy polo shirt, and often a goofy vest. They either raise their fists at you or make a weird praying motion- like, "I'm begging you, vote for me." There is one of this same candidate (Ma Ying Jiu- by the way, I know all the characters in his name! It means Horse, English, 9) offering incense at a temple in Fong Yuan.