Rights advocates for people with Down syndrome yesterday accepted an apology from McDonald’s over an incident in which a woman with Down syndrome was expelled from a Greater Kaohsiung restaurant this week, but said they regretted that the fast food chain denied that it was a case of discrimination.
“We were relieved to learn that McDonald’s apologized in a press conference in Kaohsiung. That meant our kids and supporters could end their protest under the merciless sun [outside the McDonald’s headquarters in Taipei],” said Lin Cheng-hsia (林正俠), chairman of the Care Association for People with Down Syndrome.
“However, we are not satisfied that we have been given the full facts of the incident,” Lin said.
“I think we should learn from our kids [with Down syndrome] and forgive them [McDonald’s],” Lin said, adding that the decision to accept the apology was taken because he and other advocates did not want to spend any more resources on the issue.
Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), secretary-general of the Alliance for Handicapped People, said although McDonald’s denied it, “it certainly was discrimination.”
“There are people out there who may be physically or mentally different. We may not be accustomed to talking with them or being with them, but we should always respect them,” Wang said.
“I think this incident is a very good opportunity for us, and for society as a whole, to learn a lesson,” Wang Jung-chang said.
A woman with Down syndrome, surnamed Wang (王), went to a McDonald’s in Greater Kaohsiung earlier this week and asked for an ice cream.
The store manager called the police, saying that a homeless person was in the restaurant shouting and harassing other customers.
When police officers arrived, they saw Wang quietly standing in the restaurant.
They said the manager admitted that there was no homeless person harassing customers and that he just wanted them to remove Wang from the restaurant.
McDonald’s initially declined to apologize, but as public pressure mounted, along with threats of a boycott, company representative Lu Hsiao-hui (盧小慧) officially apologized on Wednesday.
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
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
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
A court has approved Kaohsiung prosecutors’ request that two people working for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Dai-hua (林岱樺) be detained, as a probe into two cases allegedly involving her continues. The request was made on Friday, after prosecutors raided Lin’s two offices and the staffers’ residences, and questioned five on suspicion of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例). The people included the directors of Lin’s Daliao (大寮) and Linyuan (林園) district offices in Kaohsiung, surnamed Chou (周) and Lin (林) respectively, as well as three other staffers. The prosecutors’ move came after they interrogated Lin Dai-hua on Wednesday. She appeared solemn following
RSS