Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Chinese sports officials seized the Republic of China flags from two Taipei swimming champions attending the International Children's Games at Bangkok after they wrapped them round their shoulders as they walked toward a stage to collect their gold medals on Saturday, Ma said.
Chang Fen-fen (
PHOTO COURTESY OF TAIPEI CITY GOVERNMENT
According to King, the Beijing team official did not want to lose face, and replied, "You left us with no other choice."
"Is violence your only choice?" King said he replied.
To this, King said, the female members of the Beijing team screamed "Yes!"
"I don't know why they had to act like a bunch of snot-nosed purse-snatchers. How they behaved was disgusting and ugly," King said at CKS International Airport upon his return to Taipei last night.
He urged all participating nation's to protest the assaults.
"It was a regrettable incident," Ma said. "It was an unfriendly ... brutal and impolite gesture."
Ma did not identify the Chinese officials or the athletes.
Most sports organizations do not bar athletes from wearing flags other than those formally sanctioned, Ma said.
Taiwan participates at most international sports events under the name of "Chinese Taipei" as the nation is prevented from using its official name because of China's objections.
The International Children's Games are held annually to promote friendship among youths aged 12 to 15.
Meanwhile, former premier Frank Hsieh (
"Such an act of violence should not be accepted. We should lodge a solemn protest. We hope the Taipei City Government can properly deal with the incident," he said.
One Taiwanese athlete who was able to keep her flag was Li Ya-wen, who won the gold medal in the B-class Taekwondo contest.
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS