Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou follows Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese hero-worship path

Ma Ying-jeou gives fist 'salute'                                  ROC in-exile postage stamp

Postage stamps tell an informative, but one-sided, history of a nation. You get the official version of things with those little bits of paper and ink that pay for mail service.

The temptation in dictators and monarchs to use the stamps for self-aggrandizement is strong and many succumb to their ego and vanity and use postage stamps to boost their own popularity.

Queen Elizabeth in England is probably the worst violator, seeing her silhouette on stamps world-wide. Some of the rulers who like to look at themselves also use postage stamps to tell their own story and advance their political agenda.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Nationalist Republic of China started putting his picture on stamps early. Chiang even issued a special stamp to commemorate his own birthday.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek    ROC postage stamp

The Generalissimo used postage stamps to advance his standing in the civil war with the Communist People's Republic of China featuring ROC stamps with the United States flag.

Chiang also used postage stamps to cement his hold over Formosa after he fled to the island following the 1949 Communist revolution in China. The face of the exiled Chinese ruler was to be found everywhere, on the money, on the stamps, on billboards and posters. The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is symbolic of the excess to which Chiang and his Kuomintang followers went.

Chiang Ching-kuo, the Generalissimo's son, inherited the power of the throne and went on to lead his own Chinese regime in-exile ruling Taiwan under harsh martial law. Chiang, however, was not the same egotist his father was and avoided many of the propaganda tools, including postage stamps, for his own personal gratification.

Chiang Kai-shek hero-worship                       ROC in-exile postage stamps

The supposed Taiwan 'tradition' of inaugural stamps was begun by Chiang Kai-shek in China with his mug shot on an oversize 1945 color stamp featuring the ROC flag and Chiang's ceremonial uniform with its self-awarded medals.

Chiang issued another inaugural stamp to commemorate his takeover of Taiwan and the 'tradition' was born.  Incumbent ROC in-exile President Ma Ying-jeou is so far on four postage stamps with Vice-President Hsaio Wan-tsang.  The special commemorative set of four stamps was issued on May 20, 2008, shortly after Ma took office.

Ma's four stamps with Hsaio show the pair holding hands on two with Ma holding two babies on another.  The fourth stamp in the series is perhaps the most candid with Ma giving a fist 'salute'.

Is a Ma Ying-jeou birthday stamp next?