People rallied in Taipei yesterday to support US President Donald Trump and called for Taipei and Washington to normalize the relationship between the two nations.
The group held banners and shouted: “Support President Trump, protect Taiwan,” “Welcome Trump to visit Taiwan” and other slogans while waving US flags, along with green-and-white flags bearing an image of Taiwan and its outlying islands.
Organizers estimated that about 300 people attended the march.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
They set out on Ketagalan Boulevard and marched for several blocks before returning to the start point.
Many of the participants were Taiwanese independence advocates, members of civil groups or Taiwanese-Americans.
Among them was Philip Ong, who was dressed as Captain America.
Ong worked in the shipping business and had for many years lived in New York City.
“I am here to thank President Trump, because he has done so much for Taiwan in the past four years,” Ong said.
“Trump was strong and tough against communist China, and had worked to protect Taiwanese people from the hostile forces,” said Ong, who now lives in Taipei.
The event was organized by the Preparatory Office of Autonomous Formosa Detached Territory of Japan, the Taiwan Republic Office, the Taiwan Solidarity Union and the Taiwan Independence Party.
The groups invited Trump to visit Taiwan and expressed their hope that formal Taiwan-US ties would be restored.
“Although the US Republican and Democratic parties are in agreement to back Taiwan on international issues, Taiwanese are very concerned that [US president-elect Joe] Biden’s family members have business interests in China,” Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) said.
“We have seen Trump approve 11 arms procurement deals for Taiwan, and signed into law the Taiwan Travel Act, the Taiwan Assurance Act and other Taiwan-friendly legislation,” Chen said.
“Trump has incorporated Taiwan as a partner into the new US Indo-Pacific Strategy,” he said. “Taiwanese want to express our gratitude to him.”
“Formosans are close friends of America and Japan, and strong supporters of democratic progress for the Chinese,” said Michael Yeun (楊明昊), a Taiwanese-American who wrote the groups’ invitation letter to Trump.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
RSS