A Return to the New Year

The day after International Women's Day many of the related promotions at stores and restaurants were over, though some continued. For Topsports, that meant a return to the "Happy New Year" spirit, even though 2018 began two and half months ago and the current Year of the Dog began almost a month ago.

 May Day is just so far away . . .

Food, Shoes, and Jewelry: International Women's Day Sales Promotions in Jiangmen, China

In past year's I have shared some of the International Women's Day sales promotions I have come across in Zhongshan, in Jieyang, and in Guangzhou. At the moment I happen to be in Jiangmen —another city in Guangdong province. So yesterday I spent some time walking through several shopping malls and nearby shopping areas in the city. There was no shortage of promotions for the holiday, though many stores had no sales or had unrelated sales, including lingering Lunar New Year promotions.

As in past years, one noticeable aspect of the promotions were the various names used to identify the day. Yet I didn't see a single example where the standard Chinese translation for International Women's Day, 妇女节, was used. Instead, Chinese names which would translate as "Goddess Day" (女神) and "Queen's Day" (女王) were common. Some places went with "女人节" which could also translate to "Women's Day" in English. And a number of stores included the day's name in English, often going with "Queen's Day" or "Women's Day".

Chen Yan in Sixth Tone mentions a possible explanation for why the formal name in Chinese was avoided:

More and more young Chinese women are shunning International Women’s Day, a problem that is partially due to nomenclature. Women’s Day is translated as funüjie, a word that contains a term that youngsters increasingly use to refer to older, married women and that connotes a certain frumpiness and a lack of sophistication.

That still might not fully explain the choice of Watson's — a health & beauty care chain store. They went with "我们节" which could be translated as "Our Day", seemingly quite a big difference in meaning. But there's a catch. Written in pinyin, the first two characters are "Wo men".

Just to be sure, I asked an employee and she confirmed that indeed "Wo Men's Day" referred to International Women's Day and was a cross-language pun. At the very least, it strikes me as a curious choice.

Whatever name stores settled on, the promotions went on.

So if you were seeking a Women's Day special for Californian-style food in Jiangmen yesterday, you were in luck.

Other Western-style food options were available as well.

Seeking something Asian? Well, there was Thai.

And if you wanted Yunnan-style, there were options as well.

Baked goods? No problem.

Some tea? Loving Tea beckoned the goddesses.

Shiny Tea did as well.

Seeking something simple and healthy? There was a fruit store that didn't miss out on the day.

There were many options for clothing.

Shoes and hand bags were on sale too.

Glasses? No problem.

Along with a number of other jewelry stores, both China Gold and Hong Kong Gold had promotions.

Seeking health & beauty care products without a "Wo Men" theme? Mannings, a chain similar to Watsons, went with the more typical "Queen's Day".

And, yes, you could go to the supermarket for some Goddess Day savings.

Finally, while several nail salons I passed didn't have a promotion for the day, IMP Nails was ready for Queen's Day.

So finding an International Women's Day deal in Jiangmen, and elsewhere in China, wasn't at all hard yesterday. But not everybody in China thought that was a good thing. And so on International Women's Day, some feminists who criticized how the day was observed were censored.

The promotions went on though.

Late Night Buds in Jiangmen

In response to a photo of riverside eating and drinking in Jiangmen, one question was "Budweiser?"

Yes, those are bottles of American Budweiser beer on the table. Those there weren't the only people drinking Buds. And on another night at this dining establishment — 星期五 (Xīngqīwǔ — Friday) — I drank a cold one myself while looking out onto the river and waiting for some roasted fish.

Chinese-brands Tsingtao and Harbin were available as well. I went with Budweiser since it seemed fitting for this outdoor eatery which prominently featured the beer on its signage and menu.

Most of the nearby riverside options similarly feature Budweiser.

All of these places only open at night, which fits the mould for a type of place I personally associate with serving Budweiser in some parts of China. In Jiangmen, I have also noticed Budweiser advertised at multiple karaoke establishments.

So if you want to sit by the Jiangmen River and drink some Budweiser, there are options. And if you want some roasted fish as well, you're really in luck. The ginger squid is good too.

Milk Tea and Taoism in Taipei

Advertisement for T. Grand Assam Milk Tea above Xun Gate at the Xingtian Temple (Hsing Tian Kong) in Taipei

Rain and Monochromatic Adidas Themes in Taipei

Many people lined up with their umbrellas today at the Taipei Xinyi VieShow Square to have their photo taken. The large crowd for the outdoor promotion, even on a cold rainy afternoon, suggests Adidas got something right.

John Travolta and Christian Slater Still Looking On: A Broken Broken Arrow Poster in Taipei

Portion of a Broken Arrow (1996) movie poster displayed on Section 2, Dihua Street

A Language School Wants to "Make Taiwan Great Again": Cheers for Donald Trump in Taipei

During my travels the past couple of years I have seen images of Donald Trump in a variety of settings, such as at a newsstand in Taiyuan, on the wall of a noodle restaurant in Hong Kong, and at a stall selling paper cut portraits in Shanghai. The past few weeks it was an advertisement on a building in Taipei that most caught my attention.

The "Make Taiwan Great Again" slogan which accompanies the image of Trump on the advertisement for Cheers International Education Group is a clear play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. While the use of English in advertisements isn't uncommon in Taipei, it is especially fitting given the focus of Cheers: foreign language training.

The Cheers page on Facebook features the same slogan and image of Trump:

Trump is depicted making a sign with his right hand, as best as I can tell not one which has been captured in an unaltered photo of him. Since the thumb is extended it isn't a standard horns sign, though perhaps a horns sign was intended. The hand sign does match the American Sign Language sign for the acronym "ILY" — standing for "I love you". But there's a twist here. The palm should face towards the object of the love. So the hand sign in this case could be interpreted as "I love myself".

Whatever the advertisement's designer had in mind, that a language school in Taipei would use Trump's message and image in this way raises questions about how he is perceived here. I am not aware of any scientific polling results on the matter, but both positive and negative opinions about Trump could be found in Taiwan when he was elected. Anecdotally and more recently, I have come across a mix of opinions as well. For example, when Trump came up in a conversation with a Taiwanese friend who strongly dislikes him, she commented that a surprising-to-her number of people in Taiwan view him positively as President of the U.S. due to his business background. And a local political activist I met mentioned that some Taiwanese hope Taiwan's next president will be like Trump for the same reason.

So while The Trump Organization could see the advertisement as impinging on their brand, Donald Trump may first see it as indicating some of his appeal abroad. A bigger test, however, may be whether a Taiwanese politician ever prominently features Trump in a positive fashion as part of a political advertising campaign. Barack Obama can already claim that achievement.

Promoting Life, Liberty, & Samples in Taiwan

American soft power Kiehl's style:

At the Sogo Taipei Zhongxiao department store

Sitting on a Metro Train in Taipei

Liam Neeson on a Taipei Metro train. Always has a seat. Never manspreads.

Models, Dogs, and Lobster: The Breeze Center in Taipei Welcomes Valentine's Day and the Lunar New Year

A Valentine's Day promotion at the Qsquare shopping mall in Taipei left me wondering if the Lunar New Year, another potential holiday for a promotion, falling close to Valentine's Day this year influenced the decision to start the promotion nearly a month before February 14. Yesterday I saw that the Breeze Center, a luxury shopping mall in Taipei, had also began a Valentine's Day promotion on January 18. But it marked the start of their Lunar New Year promotions as well.

A series of banners with "Happy Chinese New Year & Valentine's Day" were easy to spot

Although the holidays are mentioned together, the text size on the banners highlights the Lunar New Year holiday more. And at one entrance, while the Lunar New Year theme was clear, including that it will be Year of the Dog, there was nothing specifically indicating Valentine's Day.

On Breeze's website for all of its shopping centers in Taipei portions of four images are currently featured, one appearing at a time and all with holiday promotions. One, like the banners at the mall, mentions both holidays.

Another only mentions Valentine's Day.

And another only mentions the Lunar New Year.

All of the previous banners include female models. One other, which only mentions the Lunar New Year, does not. It has a cooked lobster instead.

The promotions are a sign of how Breeze is handling the proximity of the holidays. Perhaps they will convince some people there is nothing like new shoes for celebrating Valentine's Day and lobster for the starting of the Year of the Dog — all purchased at Breeze, of course.

Getting a Head Start on Showing Love: A Valentine's Month Sale at Qsquare in Taipei

Yesterday, January 18, I didn't expect to be thinking about Valentine's Day, which isn't until February 14. However, sale signs at the Qsquare shopping mall in Taipei changed that.

The mall's website now prominently features its Valentine's Day themed winter sale as well.

I don't know whether it is typical for Qsquare to start a Valentine's Day promotion nearly four weeks before the holiday. Qsquare may have chosen the timing because another holiday with sales potential — the Lunar New Year — falls on February 16 this year. However, I have seen similarly early starts to holiday sales elsewhere. So I wouldn't be shocked if Valentine's Day signs would now be up even if the Lunar New Year fell on a later date.

In any case, the Chinese message on the banner indicates the sale will be an opportunity for couples to show evidence of their love. It doesn't mention that depending on your significant other it may or may not be beneficial to mention you bought their gift on sale.

Public Post-it Wishes in Taipei

At Maji Square, which offers a number of options for shopping and eating, in Taipei there currently is a display featuring Post-it notes.

Instructions recommend: "Write down your xmas wishes and share your ideal life with us!"

And the board was full of neatly placed Post-its.

In most cases the wishers didn't identify themselves, though they apparently had no problem that their various wishes weren't very top secret.