Questions on why a Republic of China (ROC) flag that was hung along with the flags of other countries in central London was removed remained shrouded in mystery yesterday, as the organizer said it would replace it with a Chinese Taipei Olympic flag, but declined to say why.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Steve Hsia (夏季昌) said the organizer, the Regent Street Association, on Tuesday responded to a letter from the Taipei Representative Office in the UK expressing concern over the matter.
In its short reply, the association said it felt “sorry” and that the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag would be hung up the next day, Hsia said. It did not say why the ROC flag was taken down.
Photo: Reuters
Representative to the UK Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) was quoted by the Central News Agency as saying he was “not satisfied” with the result and that it was “barely acceptable.”
In Taipei, Hsia avoided a question on whether the ministry found the answer acceptable by saying the representative office was still communicating with the association “in hopes it can hang the ROC national flag back in its original place.”
The ROC flag was originally among an array of 206 flags of nations competing in the Olympics, a display stretching more than 3km down Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus before continuing south down Regent Street, including Jermyn Street and Conduit Street, to celebrate the Olympic Games.
The national flags were positioned in alphabetical order, with six flags in a line. The ROC flag was hung with the flags of Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Thailand, before it was removed on Tuesday, leaving the slot vacant.
Shen sent a letter to the association to register the nation’s “strong concern” over the removal, and to convey “our view that the nomenclature regarding Taiwan’s participation in the Olympics shall not be applied to the display of the flags in the street,” Hsia said.
Due to political opposition from China to Taiwan’s participation in the Olympics, a protocol signed in 1981 between the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) mandates that Taiwan compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” and the ROC’s national flag and national anthem cannot be used at competition venues.
The protocol does not ban the use of ROC flags in venues not used for the Games during the Olympics period, Hsia said.
Shen also said in the letter that in a democracy, a matter like this shall fall “within the scope of freedom of speech” and “shall not be subject to interference by a third party,” according to Hsia.
The association might still opt to follow the 1981 protocol in the end because “it has its own concerns,” Hsia said.
“In that case, we will fly our national flag on other occasions at appropriate times in London,” he said.
Several Taiwanese students and expats in London have protested against the incident by carrying ROC flags to the site.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesman Chen Yi-hsin (陳以信), who is taking up doctoral studies in London, posted a photo of him raising a national flag at the site on his Facebook page yesterday, saying it was “a protest” against the disappearance of the ROC flag in London.
“I was shocked when I learned that the flag had been removed, and it’s regrettable to see the spot where our national flag was hanging four days ago is empty now,” he said.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, did not discuss the incident while presiding over the party’s Central Standing Committee yesterday, which invited Sports Affairs Council Deputy Minister Rosa Chien (錢薇娟) to report on the Taiwanese team’s participation in the Games.
Ma promised to continue pushing sports development and said the government would build 50 sports centers in the country, continuing a policy he started when he was the mayor of Taipei by building 12 sports centers in the city.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as