An overseas Taiwanese association is seeking public support after it was denied access to a cultural festival set to be held in September in Lyon, France, because of pressure from China.
The Association Culturelle des Taiwanais de Lyon (ACTL), which promotes Taiwan globally, said that the organizer of the Fete des Bannieres du Monde — the festival of world banners — denied its application to participate after Chinese participants threatened to withdraw if Taiwan was allowed entry.
ACTL chairwoman Yang Pei-yu (楊佩瑜) said she was surprised to learn about the rejection, as the event is perceived to have nothing to do with politics.
Photo: Screen grab from Comite des Fetes de la Ville de Lyon’s Facebook page
“We are seeking to resort to public opinion,” Yang said, adding that the association is reaching out to French media to ensure its voice is heard.
The ACTL first wrote to the organizer in October last year to ask about the application procedure, and was asked to wait until discussions between last year’s and this year’s event committee members had taken place, the association said.
However, the ACTL said it did not receive a clear response from the organizer despite trying to seek clarification multiple times since January.
It was not until the end of last month that the organizer finally responded, explaining that during discussions, Chinese participants had pressured them into blocking the ACTL, it said.
Similar interference from China also occurred last year, the ACTL said, adding that the organization had not officially registered for the event, but was stopped by Chinese festivalgoers when members tried to display Taiwan’s national flag.
The Chinese attendees threatened to call the police, the ACTL said, adding the organizer asked the association to remove the flag and register for next year’s event to showcase Taiwan.
As part of its work, the ACTL traveled to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, last month to promote Taiwan’s inclusion in the decisionmaking body of the WHO.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
ALLIANCE: Washington continues to implement its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan and helps enhance its defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US President Joe Biden on Friday agreed to provide US$571.3 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the US State Department approved the potential sale of US$265 million in military equipment. Biden had delegated to the secretary of state the authority “to direct the drawdown of up to US$571.3 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement. However, it did not provide specific details about this latest package, which was the third of its kind to
RSS