🥃 The Presidential Commemoration Fiasco: A Decision Made by Ivory Tower Elites
I still remember seeing a news report last month with the headline: “No Presidential Inauguration Commemorative Liquor This Year.” The news reported:
“For the 13th inauguration of the Republic of China president, liquor enthusiasts won’t be buying presidential inauguration commemorative liquor this year. A Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Company spokesperson said presidential inauguration commemorative liquor has sold out nearly every time. This year’s inability to produce it represents a policy decision. The Presidential Office says that since Ma is running for re-election rather than newly elected, the May 20 inauguration ceremony will follow the principle of ‘simplicity, solemnity, and frugality’—no celebration ceremony, no fireworks, everything kept simple. We must respectfully decline the use of the president’s portrait rights. According to records, the Kinmen Liquor Factory’s previous president and vice-president inauguration commemorative liquor, which came in deluxe packaging and 58-degree and 38-degree regular versions, sold approximately 650,000 bottles total, generating sales of nearly one billion NT dollars.”
Then I saw another news story: “Sales Are Ice Cold! Ma-Wu Commemorative Coins 90% Unsold, Silver Coins Only 23% Sold”
“Presidential Ma Ying-jeou and Vice President Wu Den-yih’s commemorative coins have sold just 10,000 units in two days. Gold coins priced at 54,000 NT dollars each sold only 1,050 units, roughly 10 percent; while 50,000 silver coins priced at 1,800 NT dollars each sold only 11,500 units, roughly 23 percent. About 80% of the Ma-Wu commemorative coins remain unsold. The front of these coins features portraits of President Ma and Vice President Wu with ‘Commemorating the Inauguration of the 13th President and Vice President of the Republic of China’ inscribed on the upper edge and ‘Fifth Popularly Elected, May 20, 2012’ on the lower edge. The reverse features the Presidential Office seal with face value, fineness, weight, and English text. Past commemorative coins used an ‘advance reservation then collection’ system, but this time the Central Bank used ‘on-site queuing’ for the first time, immediately reflecting the current popularity state of Ma and Wu amid American beef controversy, oil and electricity price increases, and securities transaction tax disputes.”
After reading both news stories, I put on a faint smile and thought to myself: “Damn, no wonder I don’t understand what the government is thinking.”
Probably just elites with elite thinking, I imagined.
❓ Why Unsellable Coins Over Billion-Dollar Liquor: The Government’s Logic
Our government would rather abandon a business that once generated a billion NT dollars in output, and instead create commemorative coins that nobody wants and have no collectible value.
Actually, the liquor company only needed authorization paperwork—everything else would be handled by them. I really cannot understand how this relates to the government’s emphasis on “simplicity, solemnity, and frugality.”
Those high-end commemorative coins that few people want (or can afford) are absolutely not more “simple, solemn, and frugal” than authorization paperwork. And the liquor company would just be adding “marketing” to existing products, giving drunk people a reason~~ necessity~~ to buy.
Moreover, the number of commemorative coin-buying suckers throughout Taiwan is roughly what the news reported; yet the government bans commemorative liquor that most people can afford. Has the government forgotten that people’s vitality is also an important economic growth factor? (And mainland tourists absolutely love buying liquor!)
So officials, where’s your brain?