◎Xu Qixiang
The election campaign in the capital is stalemate. Faced with the "ocean current" whirlwind set off by Shen Boyang's camp, the blue and white camp issued a military order to launch a systematic smear campaign in an attempt to drag the election back to the quagmire of the traditional blue-green showdown. However, an in-depth analysis of the "Ocean Current" camp's counterattack reveals an "atypical strategy" that is different from the traditional green camp. It not only mobilizes hatred on cotton, but also injects new momentum into Taiwan's democratic elections.
Jiang Wanan’s speech team launched a systematic smear campaign in an attempt to drag the election back to the traditional blue-green showdown. From left are Xu Qiaoxin, Luo Zhiqiang, Li Yanxiu, Lai Shibao and Wang Hongwei. (File photo, synthesized by this newspaper)
The three main ways of smear tactics of the Blue Camp
First, there is the "labeling of supporters and mobilization of hatred." Blue camp wings label youth and citizen participants with negative labels such as "1450," "walking workers," "cockroach rats," or "extreme black bear weirdos," and forcibly link "general recall" with "Guan Zhongtian," stimulating deep blue fear.
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Secondly, they "create fake issues and direct and act themselves", such as making up "Blue Bird Boycotts Beard Zhang" without providing any real evidence; rumoring that an old man who fell while sweeping the street was "pushed down" by a sink, and then being clarified and slapped in the face by the person involved; and even using cyber troops to carry out "low-level red, high-level black" tactics to create a fanatical image of a cult to scare away voters.
Finally, there is the "archaeology of old texts without contextualization," which involves uncovering articles from ten years ago that distorted drug issues, or editing videos from the Legislative Yuan to discredit them.
Facing the mobilization of hatred, the "Ocean Current" camp adopts five strategies to break the situation
1. Adhere to the "warm and rational" style, do not attack individuals and families, and even help solve disputes over the opponent's privileges and emphasize that "protecting children is a red line", and go deep into the grassroots to reduce resentment as the brother next door.
2. Return to "municipal essence and professional discussion", avoid the confrontation between unification and independence, and focus on the revitalization of Chifeng Street, urban aesthetics and food safety; solve problems on the spot through "soapbox talk" direct dialogue, in contrast to the opponent's "script reader, ask A and answer B", and use the actual evidence of Mesadon therapy to counter the smear campaign of old articles.
Shen Boyang, the Taipei mayoral candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party, held a "Mayor, Listen to Me" soap box event in Jiantan on October 6 to respond to citizens' suggestions for the municipal government. (File photo)
3. "Cross-border breaks", combining animation, red and white consoles, PS3 and rock zone reservations to create a happy and highly participatory campaign experience, attracting middle-aged and young people.
4. "Precision land warfare fine-tuning", intensify visits to vulnerable areas, and announce the location one hour before the event to accurately contact local residents.
5. Implement the "Four Nos", ask for the truth, "restrict, block, and deny traffic" when malicious attempts are made, clarify frankly and maintain dominance as soon as possible.
In summary, the blue camp's smear campaign aims to bring back the hatred showdown between blue and green, while the core of "Ocean Current's" counterattack lies in "not catching the ball of hatred", breaking the rigid selection board through warm personality, professional municipal administration, citizen dialogue and cross-border breaking of circles. This proves that returning to the basis of public opinion and professional discussion is the fundamental way to win the trust of the public.
(The author is freelance)
