Political commentator Cheng Hung-yi (鄭弘儀) on Monday criticized Fubon Braves head coach Yen Hsing-shu (顏行書) over a Facebook post.
On Saturday, a group of spectators attending the opening of the William Jones Cup in New Taipei City displayed a banner in Mandarin and English that read: “Taiwan. It’s not Chinese Taipei, it’s Taiwan!”
Referring to the sports arena on Facebook, Yen said the “clean, sacred ground ... had fallen.”
“Yen said that international exchanges in sports arenas have no borders and basketball fans caused the arena to fall by hanging up a banner,” Cheng said on Facebook. “I think he is brain damaged.”
“When competing abroad, our athletes are pressured by China to call themselves Chinese Taipei. Why can we not call our teams ‘Team Taiwan’ in our own nation?” Cheng said.
“If sports arenas are clean, sacred grounds, why did [President] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) tear down Taiwan’s national flags during the women’s Asian Cup soccer games?” Cheng said, referring to an incident in 2001 when spectators were banned by Taipei police from waving the Republic of China flag in the stand.
Ma was Taipei mayor at the time.
“Everyone in Taiwan should know that we do not accept ‘Chinese Taipei.’ It is forced on us by international politics... In our own nation, we do not need to humiliate ourselves. Taiwan is Taiwan,” Cheng said.
Following criticism from netizens, Yen’s original post has since been removed and replaced with a new statement saying: “I am deeply disappointed that my personal, spontaneous comments have been distorted by certain media groups into misleading headlines.”
Yen said that he accepts “personal responsibility” for his remarks and that he is “sorry that people and organizations close to me have been negatively affected.”
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS