The furor over the name of the Taiwan chapter of Lions Clubs International (LCI) is finally over.
Council Chairman of International Association of Lions Clubs ROC Shen Chu-hsiung (沈竹雄) said Monday that LCI President Kay Fukushima had signed an agreement during his recent visit to Taiwan, announcing that the chapter's name had been changed to "MD300, Taiwan."
Shen noted that Taiwan's name in the LCI was changed in April due to pressure from Beijing and other Chinese chapters.
LCI headquarters in Chicago had decided to remove the Republic of China flag from the membership flag of the chapter and changed its name from "ROC Lions Club" to "China Taiwan Lions Club."
Taiwan's Lion members refused to cave in. They held a referendum in May and unanimously agreed to keep using the name "Taiwan" in their chapter name in the LCI. More than 600 members also staged a peaceful protest to safeguard the Taiwan chapter's name during the organization's World Convention in Osaka, Japan, in July.
Taiwan's Lions Club established a task force and planned to file a civil lawsuit in the US against the LCI for changing Taiwan's name without seeking its consent first. The compromise came as a surprise for Taiwan. Shen said the successful name change should be attributed to the efforts put forth by all of the chapter's members.
Cheng Ming-hsiang (
Shen said, during the Far Eastern annual convention held in Hong Kong on Nov. 7, that Taiwan's representatives expressed their opinions regarding the name change, which exerted a critical influence. Fukushima also tried to understand the concerns of Taiwan's members during his regular visit here on Nov. 13. As a result, Fukushima signed an agreement along with his predecessor, LCI's first vice president and international board of directors, the next day announcing that the name of the chapter had been changed to "MD300, Taiwan."
Taiwan also garnered the right to organize the Far Eastern annual convention next year.
The report quoted unnamed sources as saying that China has applied pressure since the agreement was signed. Shen said he was worried that China, armed with its 27 Lion chapters, will once again target the name change during the World Convention to be held in the US in July next year.
Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs applauded Taiwanese Lions' efforts to stick to their guns and safeguard the nation's sovereignty. The ministry hopes that this incident can set an example for other non-governmental organizations, which are expected to actively cooperate with the ministry to protect the nation's dignity when faced with similar disputes in the future.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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