The Anti Neo-Democracy Theorist

The election ads for the Democratic People’s Party (DPP 民进党)  and the Nationalist Party (KMT  国民党 ) are really interesting. The DPP ad focuses on the gains in democracy gained by DPP activists over the last few decades, juxtaposing the past with the recent past to show that DPP is the true bearer of democracy in Taiwan. More importantly, it uses a little element of fear to remind young Taiwanese of the importance of democracy as they would not have remembered living under the former regime’s autocracy. By moving between the imagined past and present youth, it invokes simultaneous feelings of anxiety, support and forwardness.

The KMT’s ads are slightly different, with a strong focus on an essentalist “moral-ess” state that Taiwan has become under the DPP. They are also much more focused on economic issues and the specter of “future progress.” Also the KMT is banking more on their main hero - Ma Ying Jiu - to attract voters’ attention.

Which ad do you think was more effective in changing voters’ opinions?