Asking for Votes Dressed Like a Mussel in Matsu: Lii Wen

“Who in their right mind would dress up as a…mussel?!”

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I realized that one candidate, who seems to be having a lot of fun campaigning, is someone I’ve met. Earlier in the year, he was in a suit, all serious, serving as DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai’s interpreter during their delegation visit to Washington D.C.

A few months later, I would decide to make a trip to the remote islands of Matsu to see Lii Wen’s campaign. Matsu is a group of islands off the coast of China and often confused with the more populous Kinmen.

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Let’s start off by talking about your political experience. When did you start working in politics and when did you start working for the DPP?

I started working for the DPP in 2015, before the 2016 presidential and legislative election. I started in DPP’s international affairs division. Before that, I was a reporter at Taipei Times. That was right after I got out of mandatory military service. I covered news relating to the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Interior.

I started paying attention to politics in college, when I wrote for a National Taiwan University publication called “Consciousness Magazine.” I covered news relating to student and campus activism and campus topics.

After joining DPP’s international affairs division, I came in contact with topics such as foreign affairs and national security. Besides conducting liaison work with international media, I also worked on topics like the New Southbound Policy and Southeast Asia research. I made a lot of Indonesian and Malaysian friends through this. I learned Bahasa Indonesia and participated in Indonesian events. I could speak a little bit of it, having learned it for two years. After President Tsai was elected, I worked for the National Security Council, in the National Defense office.

We paid attention frequently to developments in Matsu and Kinment. So I felt a little close to Matsu.

Why did you choose to run for legislator in Matsu?

Around mid-2019, DPP headquarters asked me whether I would be interested in running for a blue-leaning districts in Taipei and Xinbei City that would be “hardship districts” for the DPP. Such as Da’an, Wenshan, or Younghe. Back then, Secretary General Luo proposed that many young candidates should run all at once, to form a sort of a battle line. This is to brand the DPP as a party for the young and to work on these “hardship districts” for the long term.

When they asked whether I would be interested in one of these districts, I told them I wasn’t. I was more focused on foreign affairs and defense as a researcher. Around July and August, there was discussion about the fact that nobody was running in Matsu and Kinmen for the DPP. When I heard that, I thought about how I visited Matsu in the past, worked on defense, and how Matsu has an interesting culture. Matsu has a “Eastern Min” culture, different from Taiwan and Kinmen’s dominant “Southern Min” culture.

So I thought that if I would run for office, I would run in Matsu. Matsu is the only option for Lii Wen, and Lii Wen only got Matsu as a choice. I didn’t want to run in any other district than Matsu.

The media and the people in the party refer to Matsu as a “hardship district.” What does it mean and why is Matsu one? 

This is based on votes in the past. In 2016, Tsai only received 16% of all votes – 700 votes against Eric Chu’s 3000. The DPP has not nominated a legislator candidate since 2008 here as well. In 2008, they only received a hundred and some votes. Even nonpartisan candidates can do better than the DPP.

Matsu is in an interesting geographic location. We’re now on the small island on Nangan (南竿), Matsu. Why is Matsu a part of the ROC and not a part of the PRC?

There are actually a lot of complicated historical nuances. It all boiled down to whether an island was successfully kept from the Communists during the Chinese Civil War–a lot of tactical and strategic concerns. Originally, the ROC army also defended Dachen Island off the coast of Zhejiang. But they retreated in 1956. Some also came to Dongyin Island.

For a long time, the “Anti-Communist Salvation Army” (反共救國軍) was stationed on Dongyin. That army was for a long time a loose collection of local armed maritime guerillas. It was later integrated into the ROC armed forces. Then in the 90s, it was reorganized into a brigade under the ROC armed forces. Now it is called the Dongyin Command.

Back then, whether to “take back the mainland” or deter a Communist attack, these islands have different purposes. The Dongyin armed forces for a long time until around the 1960s was conducting “Activities Behind Enemy Line” (敵後工作). So putting people in China to infiltrate, disrupt, or conduct guerilla attacks. Back then, there was a lot of secrecy with these activities.

So there were a lot of reasons to defend Kinmen and Matsu. They were crucial in several battles, and the course of history has its own way of unfolding…to where we are now.

Matsu is so far from Mainland Taiwan, and the culture, languages, and way of life must be a little different. In what ways are they different and how have they provided unique challenges for you?

Certainly the culture is different. The Eastern Min language and culture is different from Taiwan’s Southern Min culture. “Matsunese” (馬祖話) is very similar to Fuzhounese (福州話). The two are a little different but are mutually intelligible. Matsunese are very different from Taiwanese though. Taiwanese is more similar to the dialects in Kinmen, Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou. The people of Matsu would be able to get around speaking their language in Fuzhou, but not in Xiamen.

I’ve only started living here on a permanent basis in 2019, and every newcomer has his or her own struggle. I think what is more significant than its unique culture is its small size. It’s only got around 10,000 people. The people-to-people ties are a lot tighter. Everyone’s got some sort of family, school, or neighbouring ties. Everyone is tightly knitted and knows each other. This can make it hard for a newcomer such as myself to connect. You just don’t have the preexisting ties and layers of interpersonal connection.

Young people, however, seem to base their vote on their family connection unlike the more senior members of the community. It’s less of a concern for them compared to the elderlies. Another challenge is to make the DPP better branded and more inclusive of other ethnic groups. To brand the DPP as a party for everyone.

A typical image of the DPP is that it serves a certain ethnic group, or people speaking a certain language. So we want to attract moderate voters and perform better in a wider selection of districts.

In the past, some may see the DPP as a party that does not understand Matsu and the diversity here. This is the potential challenge stemming from the differences of culture that we want to overcome.

I see from your Facebook profile that you often carry a balloon, wear the mussel suit, and perform music around Matsu. Why did you choose to use these methods and how do they different from past tactics of political candidates here?

I think creativity is an important part of our campaign. We carry the balloon around the islands, so that voters can know that what we are doing here immediately. And we want to help brand Matsu’s product and uniqueness by dressing up as mussels. On one hand we can help advertise Matsu’s tourism industry, and on the other hand show that we understand how to sell Matsu to a bigger crowd. We also want to give politics a lighter-hearted take and close the gaps with the everyday people.

This allows voters who are less familiar with politics to understand us newcomers. We also want to inject some youthful vitality. They also have the effect of breaking the ice with voters. People would find it interesting and want to know what type of activity it is. “Is this really a political campaign? Are you sure it’s not street performance? Or some sort of fun event?”

Besides catching the attention of children in the area, the elderly also find it interesting. When I dress up as a mussel and visit the market, there would be merchants selling mussel. And I’d say “hey, fellow mussel,” and take a picture together. They’d find it new and interesting, and some even asked if we could sell them the suit after the election. They might want to use it to advertise their product as well!

Maybe I could even start a business selling these suits!

Lii Wen (by Milo Hsieh)

In terms of policies, what are your principles? Your slogan is “let the world see Matsu.” How do you seek to achieve this? What have you done and what do you hope to do? 

In terms of “letting the world see Matsu,” we want to brand Matsu to the international audience. And let everyone, not just the Taiwanese, see how special Matsu is. Matsu has an interesting historical experience. I’d even say that it’s one of the three cold war hotspot of the world, along with the Berlin Wall and Panmunjun. During the Cold War, Matsu is one of the most densely tunneled sites due to military presence.

Just on the little island of Nangan, fortresses are numbered from number one to number ninety-five. All along the coasts, these could house anywhere from a squad, a platoon, or a company of soldiers. The sights here, given the constant state of conflict, are heavily influenced by history. This is very worthy of visits by tourists. This can also allow the Taiwanese society to understand that the democracy we have today is earned through the sacrifice of many. They struggled to fight for what we have today, and it includes the hardship faced by the military.

The people here also went through a lot of inconvenience for living here surviving under a state of war. Under martial law, a lot of their freedom and rights were taken away. The people of Matsu and Kinmen went through a lot of hardship, and this should be something that the people of Taiwan, as well as all those who care about democracy, should appreciate and know. From a post-cold war lens, I would even welcome the people from countries such as Russia, Vietnam, and China – people on the other side that we were on – to come see how Matsu is.

Besides tourism, I have another proposal. I think education is really important here because fertility rate is very high. The people of Matsu gives birth to a lot of kids but traditionally politics does not really warrant much resource on how the next generation will be bred and grown. However, a lot of young parents here care. I want to ensure that the education here in Matsu does not fall behind any other district in Taiwan. And I think that the education of mother tongues and English will be crucial in the development of the tourism industry.

I’ve visited extracurricular centers to teach English myself and interacted with the children. Another example is the construction of speciality parks. Matsu has a lot of children but there are not many places for them to play. I often think about whether it is possible to develop these things through legislation. Speciality parks set up in the local villages can both be a playground for children and a tourist attraction.

Overall through my running for office here I want to influence the Taipei-based central government and those at the DPP headquarters to continue to focus on building up Matsu. The central government should continue to listen to the voices from Matsu. This is something that should be done regardless of whether a district is “deep-blue” or “deep-green.” And there needs to be someone relaying these voices to those in the central government.

The transition between political parties in administration is now a norm. Regardless of whether we have a DPP or a KMT government, whether President Tsai will be re-elected or not, the people of Matsu should be able to have their voices and needs heard in Taipei. This is what I hope to accomplish.

If the DPP can grow some roots in Matsu, it would be great for the party. It would be a significant development and a big step towards becoming a party for all ethnic groups and districts. For Matsu, it is something great as well.

Matsu talks a lot about “two of a kind coming in” (兩家進駐). There is only one airway company that flies to Matsu – Uni Air – so many want to see another coming in to compete. This would likely lower the prices and raise the quality of service here. Most recently “two of a kind coming in” has been achieved for convenience stores. In the past there is only 7-11, but now we have Family Mart. So many people are happy.

So we want to see two of a kind coming in in terms of political parties as well, and compete for voters. We want to see whether we can introduce positive competition in a place that has been monopolized by a single political party. All so that people can have a choice. In Matsu, the “big company” can be the KMT and the “small company” can be the DPP. But this would be a good thing regardless.

Alright. Thank you for your time! I have a surprise question for you before I finish up. What is your favorite food in a Taiwanese night market?

I like Xinjiang lamb skewers. But Matsu doesn’t have a night market, which is a little sad.

Right, so let me ask you another question. What’s your favorite local food in Matsu apart from mussels?

I am a mussel. Anyways, I like Matsu hamburgers (馬祖漢堡). It’s a sandwich of two sesame-sprayed doughnuts named Jiguang cakes (繼光餅). It’s named after a Ming-dynasty general named Qi Jiguang (戚繼光) and was originally military ration. Inside the sandwich is sometimes pork, and other times oysters or seafood, on top of scallion pan-fried eggs. I can take you to one later!

(Feature photo by Milo Hsieh)