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Vorlage:Short description Vorlage:Infobox animal Think Think (chinesisch 想想, Pinyin Xiǎngxiǎng) and Ah Tsai (chinesisch 阿才, Pinyin Ācái) are two cats belonging to the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen. Think Think is a female gray tabby, while Ah Tsai is a male ginger tabby.[1][2]

Origin of the cats Bearbeiten

Think Think was adopted by Tsai in 2012,[2] after being brought to her as a homeless kitten by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Hsiao Bi-khim. Hsiao had found the kitten on a muddy road by a railway station near Hualien after Typhoon Saola.Vorlage:Citation needed Ah Tsai (meaning 'talent') was a farm cat, and a gift from a friend during Tsai's presidential campaign.[1] The cat was found near a pineapple field in Taitung County in eastern Taiwan.[3]

Prior to her election as president, Tsai lived in a modest apartment with the two cats.[4] Think Think was originally skinny, covered in mud and suffering from skin diseases – but soon recovered under Tsai's care.[5] Tsai says that the cats generally get along well with each other, but do fight occasionally.[6]

Social media updates Bearbeiten

 
Tsai visiting the Hsinchu Animal Protection Education Park in July 2020
 
Tsai being presented with a picture of herself and her two cats.

During her presidency, Tsai has regularly posted social media updates which include her cats, and these are popular.[7] During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of these posts discouraged Taiwanese citizens from performing April Fools' Day pranks which involved false rumours. Posting a picture of herself with one of the cats, she said: "...we can exercise our sense of humor...but we can’t make jokes about the pandemic, to avoid breaking the law", and: "I wish everybody not only a humorous, but also healthy and safe April Fools’ Day".[8]

When baseball games resumed after Taiwan's pandemic lockdown was partially lifted, with the Chinatrust Brothers taking on the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, Tsai posted a picture of herself watching the game at home, accompanied by one of the cats.[9] A new Twitter hashtag – #ThisAttackComeFromTaiwan – aims to welcome overseas visitors to Taiwan after the pandemic, and includes images of Taiwanese landscapes, bubble tea, and Tsai's cats.[10]

In 2019, Tsai posted pictures on social media of Ah Tsai attentively watching television, and enjoying the Animal Channel.[11] On Valentine's Day in 2019, Tsai's message to citizens featured the two cats.[3] In the lead up to the 2020 election, Tsai advised her supporters to ignore 'fake news' about the cats' health, and that they were in fine form.[12]

In July 2020, Tsai visited the Hsinchu Animal Protection Education Park, where she made a statement urging citizens who wanted pets to adopt stray animals, instead of purchasing them.[13]

Media coverage Bearbeiten

Supporters and critics Bearbeiten

Shortly after Tsai was elected as president in 2016, she was criticised for being a single woman – and therefore 'emotional' and 'erratic' – in a newspaper article published by China's state news agency Xinhua.[14] The article, written by Wang Weixing[15] a military officer in the PLA, provoked an outcry for its sexist views,[15] and was quickly withdrawn. On China's social media platform Sina Weibo, one commentator suggested that the Chinese leadership are "... probably threatened that a cat lady like Ms Tsai could beat any men she sets her mind to ...".[16]

Taiwanese activist magazine New Bloom describes her as 'an unorthodox politician ... a female academic who loves cats and supports gay rights'.[17] Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times observes that Tsai is one of two cat-lovers who have recently risen to power – the other being Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party.[18]

In June 2016, while in Miami, Tsai met Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher Wei-Yin Chen, whose gifts to her included feeding bowls for each of the two cats and three adopted dogs.[19]

Three dogs – Bella, Bunny and Maru Bearbeiten

 
Tsai introducing the dogs to children at the Yongyou Residence Children's Club in 2017.

After first being sworn in as president, Tsai also announced plans to adopt three retired guide dogs once she moves into her official residence.[20] The media in Taiwan asked Tsai whether she anticipated any conflict with her cats, but she said that the dogs "are very well trained and they can definitely get along with the cats".[20]

Other observers attempted to draw parallels with Taiwan's political situation. Alex Lo, writing in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, has suggested that Tsai's adoption of the dogs is a good sign for relations between Taiwan and Mainland China.[21] He proposes that the Taiwanese are 'cat people', while the mainland Chinese are 'dog people' – citing a psychological study indicating cat lovers are 11 per cent more open to 'unusual ideas', while dog people are more 'conventional and traditional'.[21] In Singapore, The Straits Times dismissed as media speculation any suggestion of a 'civil war' between Tsai's cats and dogs.[22]

Tsai adopted the dogs in October 2016, and their names are Bella, Bunny and Maru. She signed their adoption papers at a ceremony organised by the Huikuang Guide Dog Foundation, where she vowed to improve the barrier-free environment for visually impaired people and their seeing-eye dogs.[23] Of the three dogs, Tsai has described Bella as her favourite; while Bunny is 'elegant' and Maru is 'timid'.[24]

Election campaigns Bearbeiten

2015–2016 Bearbeiten

Think Think and Ah Tsai featured as part of Tsai's presidential campaign in 2015 and 2016,[25] with the press sometimes referring to her as 'Cat Woman'.[26] During the campaign, Tsai's Facebook pages on cat-related topics received many more hits than pages discussing policy issues – with the rate of 'likes' being up to 50 percent higher.[25]

A page showing Ah Tsai receiving a vaccination on World Animal Day was especially popular, with nearly 30,000 'likes' (as of October 2015).[25] Her campaign team produced an animated film, Cat in a Paper Carton – Think Think; and the feline also appeared in Light up Taiwan, a book outlining Tsai's political views.[25]

Tsai's love of cats is well known among her supporters, and young people in particular are fans of the two cats.[27] Her Chinese New Year video message in 2015 included a grey tabby cat trying to break free from her arms.[26] As part of her campaign, Tsai and her cats were transformed into anime video characters.[28] The animated cartoon was not in Mandarin, the language promoted by the ROC government for decades, but Taiwanese, a language which was once scorned by Tsai's opponents, the previously dominant Kuomintang (KMT).[29]

Davina Tham of the Taipei Times said that Tsai personifies the nation's attitudes toward women in power.[30] Tham cites a comic strip created in 2016 by "Stupid Sheep" called Presidential Slave to Cats, portraying a cartoon likeness of Tsai juggling presidential duties with her devotion to Think Think and Ah Tsai.[30] Tham also cites another cartoonist, Wei Tsung-cheng, who created Conquerer of the Seas, which portrays a young girl named Ing who grows up on a patriarchal island-nation; and overthrows oppressive forces which terrorise her people.[30]

Celebrating Tsai's election victory, the national postal agency, Chunghua Post, created a special stamp issue. It featured people from all walks of life, along with a dog and a cat; and drew attention to issues of equality and cultural diversity in Taiwan.[31] The pixelated faces of the President and Vice President were intended to express the idea that these are individuals who embody the collective spirit and style of the nation.[31] Other icons represented various occupations, genders, social roles and ethnic groups.[31] It was the first ever Taiwanese stamp not to feature the national flag.[32]

2020 Bearbeiten

Tsai's re-election campaign made use of both cat and dog imagery.[33] Also included were videos of her frolicking with the two cats and three dogs.[34] Taiwan News called one of her cats the "purrfect" running mate, and her supporters wore T-shirts calling the President a "slave to cats".[35][36] A campaign store was set up, where visitors could take selfies with Tsai's dogs.[37]

Tsai appeared wearing a pair of pink cat ears in a DPP campaign rally advertisement, which was posted on social media by Freddy Lim, frontman of death metal band Chthonic, and also himself a politician.[38] Although Lim is founder of the New Power Party (NPP), he ran as an independent after a dispute about the NPP's relationship with the ruling DPP.[39] Despite his role as an independent, Lim had been voicing his support for the DPP's Tsai Ing-wen.[39]

Other publicity material in the Tsai campaign included a pillow in the shape of Taiwan, and a hot sauce which was a pun on Tsai's "Hot Taiwanese Girl" nickname.[37][40]

Tsai was mocked by the Chinese Communist Party for posting a cosplay "magic girls" avatar on Facebook.[41] However, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's China correspondent Bill Birtles says that Tsai's "cute" campaign style belies a much harder edge.[41] The New Daily called her Taiwan's "Iron Cat Lady".[42]

During the 2020 election, several other politicians associated themselves with animals, pets or anime characters – such as Vorlage:Ill, who appeared in a video wearing a pair of wings in the shape of mussels.[37] Writing for New Bloom, Brian Hioe suggested at least one was following Tsai's lead; highlighting main presidential rival Han Kuo-yu, who appeared with imagery of his pet Shiba Inu.[37] Taiwan's Digital Minister, Audrey Tang, says that politicians using internet memes and cat pictures reflects a 'coming out' of digital subcultures.[43]

After Tsai was elected to her second term, she was congratulated by the Hong Kong Cat Society, a cat welfare organisation, which issued a statement describing her victory as 'a win for cats'.[44]

Feline culture in Taiwan Bearbeiten

Vorlage:Coatrack

 
A street sculpture in Houtong Cat Village

Cats are generally popular as pets in Taiwan, with the cat population increasing rapidly in recent years.[45] The world's first cat café, named "Cat Flower Garden", opened in Taipei in 1998,[46] and by 2016 there was also a "Cathy Hotel" especially for cats.[45] The Taiwanese cat café concept spread to Japan, and later caught on in other countries around the world.[47]

The former mining town of Houtong is known as a "cat village", which attracts tourists with its large population of roaming cats.[48]

See also Bearbeiten


References Bearbeiten

Vorlage:Reflist

[[Category:Individual cats in politics]] [[Category:Political history of Taiwan]] [[Category:Tsai Ing-wen]] [[Category:Animal duos]]

  1. ↑ a b Taiwan's cat-loving president to adopt retired guide dogs In: Bangkok Post, 26 May 2016. Abgerufen im 21 June 2016 
  2. ↑ a b Tsai Ing-wen sworn in as Taiwan's 1st female president (Memento des Originals vom 10 August 2016 im Internet Archive) In: Nikkei Asian Review, 20 May 2016. Abgerufen im 18 June 2016 
  3. ↑ a b 姜庚宇: 【情人節】蔡英文「曬」愛貓照 與貓共度：只要有愛就是好日子. In: 香港01. 14. Februar 2019, abgerufen am 13. Juli 2020 (chinesisch (Hongkong)).
  4. ↑ Julian Ryall, Richard Spencer: China sends warning to Taiwan as it prepares to elect first woman president In: The Daily Telegraph, 1 January 2016. Abgerufen im 4 April 2018 
  5. ↑ 风采: 《平民女总统蔡英文》2：怀胎得女 她是蔡想想的妈. 17. März 2020, abgerufen am 13. Juli 2020 (amerikanisches Englisch).
  6. ↑ 中時電子報: 鄭宏輝搶攻寵物票 蔡英文力挺到底 - 政治. In: 中時電子報. Abgerufen am 13. Juli 2020 (chinesisch (Taiwan)).
  7. ↑ 《中國密報》編輯部: 《中國密報》第46期: 江澤民導演習李鬥？ 中國密報雜誌社, 2016, ISBN 978-1-68182-163-4 (chinesisch (Taiwan), google.com [abgerufen am 6. August 2021]).
  8. ↑ Internal Submission: Pandemic pranks off the table on April Fools' Day. In: The Japan Times. 1. April 2020, archiviert vom Original am 13. Juli 2020; abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020 (amerikanisches Englisch).
  9. ↑ hermes: Taiwan first up to the plate. In: The Straits Times. 14. April 2020, abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020 (englisch).
  10. ↑ Nick Aspinwall: Tsai Rejects Accusations Taiwan Attacked WHO Chief, Invites Him to Visit. Abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020 (amerikanisches Englisch). 
  11. ↑ 三立新聞網: 「蔡阿才」看電視遭蔡英文偷拍！不科學身材引網友熱議 | 政治 | 三立新聞網 SETN.COM. In: www.setn.com. 7. Februar 2019, abgerufen am 13. Juli 2020 (chinesisch (Taiwan)).
  12. ↑ 蔡英文秀貓活蹦亂跳 稱不要在網路造謠. In: www.ctwant.com. Abgerufen am 13. Juli 2020 (chinesisch (Taiwan)).
  13. ↑ 參訪新竹市動保園區 總統呼籲國人「以認養代替購買」 讓無家可歸的毛小孩重新開始新的生活. In: www.president.gov.tw. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2020 (chinesisch (Taiwan)).
  14. ↑ Javier C. Hernández, Vanessa Piao May: Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's First Female Leader, Is Assailed in China for Being 'Emotional' In: The New York Times, 25 May 2016. Abgerufen im 3 March 2017 
  15. ↑ a b Sexist remarks on Tsai Ing-wen spark outrage in China, Taiwan In: The Straits Times, 26 May 2016. Abgerufen im 19 June 2016 
  16. ↑ WITW Staff: Taiwan president accused of being "extremist" and "erratic" because she is single. In: Women in the World. 20. Mai 2016, abgerufen am 19. Juni 2016.
  17. ↑ Brian Hioe: Is the Narrative About Taiwan Changing After Tsai Ing-Wen's Presidential Victory? In: New Bloom. 18. Januar 2016, abgerufen am 21. Juni 2016.
  18. ↑ Gideon Rachman: Rise of the cat leaders. 1. Juni 2016, abgerufen am 20. Juni 2016.
  19. ↑ Tony Liao, Sophia Yeh, Elizabeth Hsu: U.S. representative welcomes Tsai in Miami, voices support for Taiwan. In: Focus Taiwan. Central News Agency, 26. Juni 2016, abgerufen am 27. Juni 2016.
  20. ↑ a b Taiwan's cat-loving President Tsai Ing-wen to adopt 3 retired guide dogs In: The Straits Times, 26 May 2016. Abgerufen im 18 June 2016 
  21. ↑ a b Alex Lo: A tale of cats, dogs and cross-strait relations. 27. Mai 2016, abgerufen am 19. Juni 2016.
  22. ↑ Taiwan's cat-loving President to adopt dogs too In: The Straits Times, 26 May 2016. Abgerufen im 20 June 2016 
  23. ↑ President Tsai adopts three retired guide dogs 蔡英文總統 收養三隻退役導盲犬. Taipei Times, 14. Januar 2017, abgerufen am 20. Januar 2017.
  24. ↑ 獨／蔡英文形容3愛犬：Maru最膽小、Bella最愛吃、Bunny最優雅 | ETtoday新聞雲. In: www.ettoday.net. Abgerufen am 13. Juli 2020 (chinesisch (traditionell)).
  25. ↑ a b c d S.P. Yeh, Lillian Lin: Campaign focuses on Tsai Ing-wen's pets. In: Focus Taiwan. Central News Agency, 11. Oktober 2015, abgerufen am 18. Juni 2016.
  26. ↑ a b Nectar Gan: Cat Woman: Taiwan's first female president huge fan of felines In: South China Morning Post, 18 January 2016. Abgerufen im 18 June 2016 
  27. ↑ Chew Hui Min: Taiwan's first woman president: 10 things you should know about Tsai Ing-wen In: The Straits Times, 20 May 2016. Abgerufen im 18 June 2016 
  28. ↑ Oona McGee: Taiwan's president-elect Tsai Ing-wen appears as cute moe anime girl in awesome campaign videos. In: RocketNews24. 19. Januar 2016, abgerufen am 20. Juni 2016.
  29. ↑ Hello Kitty, goodbye panda In: The Economist, 16 July 2016 
  30. ↑ a b c Boom, zap, pow: Tsai Ing-wen saves the day - Taipei Times. In: www.taipeitimes.com. 14. Februar 2019, abgerufen am 26. Juli 2020.
  31. ↑ a b c 中華郵政: 中華郵政全球資訊網. In: 中華郵政. 13. Januar 2016, abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020.
  32. ↑ New Stamps Celebrating Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. In: Tricky Taipei. 22. April 2016, abgerufen am 8. Juli 2020 (amerikanisches Englisch).
  33. ↑ Taiwan's president sweeps to reelection, setting the stage for chilly relations with China. In: Los Angeles Times. 11. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 8. Juli 2020 (amerikanisches Englisch).
  34. ↑ Vorlage:Cite magazine
  35. ↑ Photo of the Day: Taiwan president's purrfect running mate. In: Taiwan News. 18. November 2019, abgerufen am 8. Juli 2020.
  36. ↑ As Taiwan goes to the polls, Tsai says the choice is democracy or dictatorship In: The Washington Post, 8. Januar 2020. Abgerufen am 8. Juli 2020 Vorlage:WaPoCheckDates
  37. ↑ a b c d Brian Hioe: Aesthetics and Politics in 2020 Elections. In: New Bloom Magazine. 8. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020 (amerikanisches Englisch).
  38. ↑ Photo of the Day: Cat ears, cosplay, death metal featured in Taiwan campaign ad. In: Taiwan News. 10. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020.
  39. ↑ a b Freddy Lim triumphs in Taipei pan-blue bastion. In: Taiwan News. 11. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 11. Juli 2020.
  40. ↑ T. N. L. Staff: Taiwan 2020: How These Politicians Got Their Funny Nicknames. In: The News Lens International Edition. 25. Dezember 2019, abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020 (englisch).
  41. ↑ a b Her cat shares her campaign poster but Taiwan's President is anything but soft. In: www.abc.net.au. 10. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020 (australisches Englisch).
  42. ↑ Taiwan's Iron Cat Lady Tsai Ing-wen leads poll results for presidency. In: The New Daily. 10. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 9. Juli 2020 (amerikanisches Englisch).
  43. ↑ The civic hacker that became Digital Minister of Taiwan: interview with Audrey Tang. In: Digital Future Society. 13. April 2020, abgerufen am 3. August 2020 (amerikanisches Englisch).
  44. ↑ 【最強貓奴】貓界狂賀蔡英文成功連任 「請台灣第一貓繼續統治台灣」. In: Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Archiviert vom Original am 26. Juli 2020; abgerufen am 26. Juli 2020 (chinesisch (Hongkong)).
  45. ↑ a b Taiwan's love affair with cats purrs ahead. In: Taiwan Today. 16. Februar 2016, abgerufen am 29. Juni 2022.
  46. ↑ Lindsey Galloway: Travel: Feline fun in Japan's cat cafes. In: BBC Worldwide. 3. April 2012, abgerufen am 19. Juni 2016.
  47. ↑ Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey: Cat-ching! Cat cafes take over world. In: CNN.com. 16. Juni 2014, abgerufen am 19. Juni 2016.
  48. ↑ Taiwan's 'cat village' on CNN list of attractions In: The China Post, 9 November 2013. Abgerufen im 27 June 2016 
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