In late 2005, the Government Information Office began accepting votes for symbols of Taiwan that would capture its identity and represent it abroad. In two months, more than 780,000 votes were received, with Taiwanese puppet theater, Yushan, the Taipei 101 building, Taiwanese cuisine, and the Formosan landlocked salmon taking the top five places.
為了對內發掘台灣的特色，對外營造國家形象的識別標誌，行政院新聞局在 2005 年底發起了「尋找台灣意象」全民票選活動，在兩個月的時間內收到 78 萬張以上的選票，選出了「布袋戲」、「玉山」、「台北 101 大樓」、「台灣美食」和「櫻花鉤吻鮭」為 5 大代表。