Protesters yesterday threw flowers at the motorcade of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) in an attempt to draw attention to Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy activists and rights lawyers.
Instead of jasmine, which has come to symbolize the protests that have swept across north Africa and the Middle East, protesters waved and handed out white chrysanthemums because jasmine is not in season, organizers said.
The protesters also wore white headbands with the words “Respect, Jasmine, Peace” printed on them and called on China to respect human rights, democracy and the right to assembly.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
A retired civil servant at the protest said that “of course” he supported pro-democratic protests in China, adding that they could pave the way for more peaceful relations with Taiwan.
“We don’t have anything against the Chinese people — it’s the government we are concerned with,” said the man, who did not give his name.
Outside E-DA World, where Chen is staying, representatives from pro-independence groups gathered together in the afternoon and sang Mo Li Hua, a popular Chinese folk song about jasmine, while waving the white flowers in the direction of the hotel.
During Chen’s first day in Taiwan on Monday, protesters including Democratic Progressive Party politicians attempted to deliver plastic flowers and a box of jasmine juice to the hotel where the Chinese delegation was staying.
Demonstrators attempted to do so again yesterday, but were quickly stopped by police.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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