TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Thursday (Jan. 11), with only two days remaining before Taiwanese voters head to the ballot box, former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) shared a cryptic image on social media, leading to discussion and confusion among netizens.
The post includes an image of a large eyeball wearing a suit and top hat, with a green frog pasted over the figure’s shoulder, alongside a cropped image of Chen, who is in the corner with a small stuffed figure of a baseball player. The text “Taiwan’s choice” (台灣的選擇) is at the top of the picture.
The expression “Taiwan’s choice” is similar to one of the campaign slogans of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), reported UDN. The Ko campaign slogan (台灣的選哲) replaces the final character in “Taiwan’s choice” with the last character in Ko’s given name (哲), creating a homonym that suggests something similar to “Taiwan picks the great thinker (Ko).”
Many netizens sought to clarify Chen’s meaning with the image, with many Ko supporters eager to interpret the image as a subtle message of support for Ko. However, Chen responded, “There is no patent application for slogans. Jan. 13 is the day that the Taiwanese people will make their choice, is it not?”
When asked what meaning the image of the eye and frog was meant to convey, Chen simply said “It’s a meme.” He later gave a tiny bit of clarification by calling on everyone to “Look closely before voting.”
Several interpretations have been offered for the image’s meaning, with one suggesting that the presence of white and green colors in the image and a lack of blue might be a subtle way of saying votes for Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Ko are more favorable than votes for the Kuomintang’s (KMT) Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), per TVBS.
Some netizens suggested the stuffed baseball player represents Lai, standing on the shoulder of the presidential pioneer of the DPP. Others said the frog, an element that has appeared frequently in meme images made by Chen, might represent Ko based on the pronunciation of his surname in Taiwanese.
It is unclear what the eye and top hat might symbolize.
A homemade meme by Chen Shui-bian. (Facebook, Chen Shui-bian image)
