TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Meta’s Twitter-esque social media platform Threads launched in 100 countries on Wednesday (July 5), and reportedly amassed some 30 million users in its first 24 hours of being online.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made her debut late Friday night (July 7), asking about the weather in Kaohsiung ahead of a Saturday visit (32 degrees Celsius and sunny). Many other Taiwanese have followed in the president's footsteps and have made an impression on the platform.
Among them are the three (or four) men who hope to lead the country after Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election. Threads provides a unique opportunity to see these candidates in untested waters, using a brand new social media platform that is yet to establish a specific tone or style.
Lai Ching-te
Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) posted his first thread on Thursday by introducing himself in Taiwanese, followed by a picture of him playing a game of basketball with some toddlers. He has followed that up on Saturday (July 8) by reposting an influencer’s meme, and currently has 13,700 followers.
This all looks fairly on brand for Lai, leader of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, known for his easy-going yet well-polished public persona. His Threads reflects this, with a solid, but not earth-shattering inaugural appearance.
Lai Ching-te hits the court. (Threads, Lai Ching-te photo)
Hou Yu-ih
A recent column for Taiwan News described Kuomintang presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) as seemingly controlled by ChatGPT. His Threads is not a lot different, with a stock repost of a comment on military service that he made in recent days.
Hou has used Threads to lean further into backtracking his commitment to returning Taiwan’s military service to four months, after he said he would oppose government plans to extend it to one year. Given the state of cross-strait tension, Hou has called the extension to one year an “unavoidable choice.”
4,390 followers.
Ko Wen-je
Taiwan People’s Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) started strong on Threads with a joke about trolls, and asked his audience on Friday how he was supposed to pronounce “Threads” in Chinese, which is a good question. He has an impressive 105,000 followers, which is more than Nancy Pelosi, the Dalai Lama, T-Pain, Willie Nelson, and Filipino President Bongbong Marcos.
Ko stayed true to his usual self-effacing nature with his apparent inability to pronounce the name of Threads (despite being able to speak English well), and he is outperforming himself relative to his position follower numbers, much like he is in the polls.
Ko Wen-je's impressive follower count continues to grow. (Threads, Ko Wen-je image)
Terry Gou
Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) may not be on the campaign trail, but he is on Threads. Besides, he’s discussed enough in terms of this political race to earn an honorary mention.
Sticking to the basics, Gou comes out of the gate with: “Hello everyone, I am Terry Gou.” Efficient, no nonsense, and clear messaging befitting of a business tycoon such as Gou.
A lot of people are responding with “hello daddy,” which this non-Taiwanese reporter understands is a term of endearment for rich men.
On Thursday, he let his 14,400 followers know he had donated NT$1.5 million (US$48,000), or 0.02% of his wealth, to a little league team in Yilan.
Donating a large sum of money to a children’s baseball team seems very on brand for the populist. Also, the fact that he is beating Hou and Lai in follower count seems to reflect his ability to take control of a given situation, despite not really being part of it.
Taiwan News is now on Threads, and can be followed at "TaiwanNews_".
