Taiwanese soccer fans were up in arms on Sunday after confrontations broke out when officials tried to stop spectators from expressing support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement at an East Asian Cup qualifier in Taipei.
At the men’s qualifying match between Taiwan and Hong Kong, several hundred local fans heeded calls from groups to bring yellow umbrellas to the game, as they are a symbol of Hong Kong’s democracy movement.
Fans in one row in the stands held up 14 yellow umbrellas displaying lyrics from Hong Kong band Beyond’s hit song Glorious Years from the 1990s: “Hold on tight to freedom in the wind and rain. We have the confidence to change the future” (風雨中抱緊自由、自信可改變未來).
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Football Association
Then, as the Chinese national anthem was being played, local spectators joined visiting fans in singing a rendition of Beyond’s other 1990s hit, Boundless Oceans Vast Skies, the unofficial theme song of Hong Kong’s “Umbrella movement.”
One Hong Kong reporter said it was a surprise to see such strong support from Taiwan’s sports community, adding that he was grateful that the fans staged such a display at an international soccer event.
Many Hong Kongers took to Facebook and other social media sites to thank Taiwanese for showing their solidarity, with one writing: “Hong Kong and Taiwan, we stand together and will fight together.”
A number of Taiwanese spectators also brought Republic of China flags to the game. However, officials from the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) confronted the flag-waving fans, saying that waving flags was dangerous and telling the supporters to put them down. The officials added that sports should not be mixed with politics.
A CTFA referee section official identified as Shih Po-hai (史勃海) was seen going into the stands and demanding that spectators remove any protest slogans and national flags, while telling fans: “You cannot perform these activities here” and “Your actions will set our national team’s ranking back further.”
Some fans said their rights to freedom of expression and to stage displays of patriotism were infringed upon, and a large section of the stands began chanting: “Taiwan is a democratic country” at the official.
Many Taiwanese netizens accused CTFA officials of bowing to pressure from China and demanded they protect fans’ rights to display flags and slogans at sports events.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS