Pan-green supporters yesterday called for a boycott against EVA Air on a Web site forum, accusing the corporation of pro-China sentiment, highlighting a reference to "the pride of the Chinese people" on the company's Web site.
A picture of the EVA Airway official Web site, featuring a close-up of a paragraph mentioning "the pride of the Chinese people," was posted on the online forum of the pro-green newspaper South News on Wednesday. The author, identified only as "midigear," added to the picture in bold red lettering, "Protest! Chinese? Sorry, the Taiwanese won't pay the bill."
Next Magazine reported last month that references to the "Wings of Taiwan" on the EVA Air Web site's corporate profile had been replaced with "Pride of the Chinese people."
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
However, the English-language version of the Web site remains unchanged, stating "From the wellspring of its Taiwanese heritage, [the Evergreen Group] built on the strengths of its culture and created EVA Air -- the Wings of Taiwan."
EVA Air public relations officer Liu Li-wen (
"There is no particular hidden meaning to be found in "pride of the Chinese people. This is very common wording," Liu told the Taipei Times yesterday.
But she added that the "Wings of Taiwan" slogan was now outdated and had been replaced with "Just relax -- your home in the air."
Choosing green for the color of everything from the interior of the carriers to the uniforms worn by its employees, EVA Airways had previously been regarded as a "pro-green corporation" and as a pro-localization alternative to China Airlines.
In addition, Chang Jung-fa (
Media reports claimed that Chang had switched his political loyalties during the run-up to the March election. Chang wanted a candidate that would "build a peaceful, stable and harmonious cross-strait relationship in order to lead us to re-create Taiwan's economic miracle."
Chang expressed his dissatisfaction with the failure to lift bans on direct links with China.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I