Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) yesterday defended her comments lauding the victory of Taiwan’s badminton duo at the Paris Olympics as “the pride of Chinese people.”
Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) on Sunday won the first gold medal for Taiwan in the men’s doubles at this year’s Olympics.
Lee and Wang’s gold medal win is the “Pride of Chinese people,” Weng wrote on China’s WeChat social media app.
Photo: Taipei Times file
In response to media queries yesterday, she said: “We are Chinese... No matter who wins, Team Taiwan or the team from mainland China, it is still the pride of all Chinese people. I see nothing wrong in my statement.”
Speaking at a news conference in Taipei, Democratic Progressive Party caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) asked: “Which team was Weng rooting for?” as she watched Lee and Wang face their Chinese opponents at the finals.
“It is very regretful that Weng receives a salary from the [Taiwanese] government, serves as a Taiwanese lawmakers but she does not stand with Taiwan,” Wu added.
Separately yesterday, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and KMT think tank deputy director Ling Tao (凌濤) celebrated the badminton win by distributing fried chicken cutlets and bubble tea at the party’s headquarters in Taipei.
Asked about Weng’s post, Chu said: “Right now our whole society is celebrating... We are all cheering for Lee and Yang, as we are proud of both of them.”
“We were all nervous and excited while watching the match on Sunday, and it ended joyfully and our country is celebrating [the victory] together,” he said.
“It has been a long time since we have experienced such joy. When the Republic of China’s National Flag Anthem was played, we were very moved. It was a feeling that everyone shared as we watched it on TV in support of our beloved Chinese Taipei team,” he said.
Additional reporting with CNA
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS