“Get elected!” — Phrase of the Week
A phrase that captures the unique atmosphere of the democratic elections in Taiwan.
Our Phrase of the Week is: Get elected! (冻蒜 dòngsuàn)
The Context
Last weekend, people in Taiwan voted for Lai Ching-te (赖清德 Lài Qīngdé) to be their next president, ushering in an historic third term in power for the Democratic Progressive Party (民进党 mínjìndǎng), the DPP.
Lai and his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim (萧美琴 Xiāo Měiqín), were elected as the new president and vice president with 5.58 million votes, 40% of the vote.
That’s less than the 8.17 million votes won by the incumbent Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), in her re-election in 2020, and the 6.89 million votes for her first victory in 2016.
Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜 Hóu Yǒuyí) and Jaw Shaw-kong (赵少康 Zhào Shàokāng) of the KMT (国民党 guómíndǎng), came second with 4.67 million votes, 33.49% of the vote.
Ko Wen-je (柯文哲 Kē Wénzhé) and Cynthia Wu (吴欣盈 Wú Xīnyíng) of the People’s Party (民众党 mínzhòngdǎng), took 3.69 million votes, 26.46% of the total. The relatively new party was founded four years ago by Ko, as a “rational” alternative to the other two main parties, with a greater focus on domestic concerns.
According to the final results, the total number of votes in this election was 14.048 million, a decrease of approximately 416,000 from the total in the 2020 election. The turnout was 71.86%, slightly lower than 74.9% four years ago but an increase of 5.59% compared to 2016.
Taiwan’s democracy is as vibrant, loud, and proud as ever.
Some of the language used around the election is uniquely Taiwanese. With one phrase in particular capturing the sentiment:
Whether it’s at the site where candidates register for election, sweep the streets to solicit votes, or hold large-scale rallies, the shouts of “frozen garlic” can be heard with flags printed with the candidates’ faces and names flying.
The phrase, “frozen garlic”, connects candidates and voters, bringing them together as a community. As the campaign enters the final stage of close combat, “frozen garlic” is not just a message of confidence, but also a conviction that must be firmed up in the final fierce confrontation that is accompanied by all the negatives in the campaign.
无论是在候选人登记参选的现场、扫街拜票、或是举办大型选举造势活动,“冻蒜”的喊声大多随著印有候选人头像与姓名的旗帜震荡飘扬,“冻蒜”将候选人与选民连结起来,作为选举共同体。也随著选战进入最终近身肉搏阶段,冻蒜不只是信心喊话,更像是在最后的激烈对抗伴随著一切的负面选战中,必须坚定的信念。
Wúlùn shì zài hòuxuǎnrén dēngjì cānxuǎn de xiànchǎng, sǎojiē bàipiào, huò shì jǔbàn dàxíng xuǎnjǔ zàoshì huódòng,“dòngsuàn” de hǎnshēng dàduō suízhe yìn yǒu hòuxuǎnrén tóuxiàng yǔ xìngmíng de qízhì zhèndàng piāoyáng,“dòngsuàn” jiāng hòuxuǎnrén yǔ xuǎnmín liánjié qǐlái, zuòwéi xuǎnjǔ gòngtóngtǐ. Yě suízhe xuǎnzhàn jìnrù zuìzhōng jìnshēn ròubó jiēduàn, dòngsuàn bùzhǐshì xìnxīn hǎnhuà, gèng xiàng shì zài zuìhòu de jīlièduìkàng bànsuízhe yíqiè de fùmiàn xuǎnzhàn zhōng, bìxū jiāndìng de xìnniàn.
And with that, we have our Phrase of the Week!
What it means
“Frozen garlic” (冻蒜 dòngsuàn) is a homophone from Hokkien (闽南话 mǐnnánhuà).
Hokkien, or Southern Min, is the language spoken in Taiwan.
Also known as Min Chinese, it’s spoken in Fujian, (many people in Taiwan are descendants of settlers from Fujian), Eastern Guangdong, Hainan, and Southern Zhejiang.
Supporters of the DPP tend to speak Hokkien as there mother tongue, and they are called “locals” (本地人 běndìrén).
Whereas, KMT supporters traditionally tend to speak Mandarin as their mother language. They are known as waishengren (外省人 wàishěngrén), or mainlanders, the group of migrants who arrived in Taiwan from mainland China between the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, and KMT retreat and the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
“Frozen garlic” in Hokkien is pronounced tòng-suán. It sounds the same as “get elected” (当选 dāngxuǎn).
In Chinese, it’s pronounced “dòngsuàn”, and is often heard being called out at election events – a call to rally crowds behind election candidates.
These chants of “frozen garlic” in Hokkien and Mandarin are now a central ritual in Taiwan’s democracy.
Andrew Methven is the author of Slow Chinese 每周漫闻, a resource to help learners of Chinese maintain and improve their language skills, and keep on top of the latest language trends in China. Read more.