Dear KMT: Don’t challenge the internet

So this showed up as sponsored content on my Facebook feed. It’s a good old-fashioned challenge from KMT legislator Lin Yu-fang who is running for re-election in Taipei 5. Who will you vote for: the respectable looking fellow or the outlandish rocker?

There were 362 responses, many of which provided a clear answer to Lin’s question. By my quick and dirty count, Freddy Lim (the New Power Party challenger on the right) is winning 140 to 17. Some of the commenters criticized Lin for his record in office, many pointedly said they liked long hair (Lin previously said that people with long hair have psychological problems), some sarcastically thanked Lin for reminding them which number the rock star is, one or two sarcastically thanked Lin for paying for Freddy’s advertising content, and a few lonely souls said they supported #1. Remember, this is on Lin Yu-fang’s Facebook page; he should have one or two followers, shouldn’t he?

Taipei 5 is going to be a close race, but this is a good reminder of just how dominant the green side is on the internet. It’s also a good reminder of the gap between an older generation that thinks people should look and act certain standard ways and a younger generation that embraces diversity and pluralism.