The furor raging over Taiwan's advertisements at Athens' international airport continued yesterday, as a number of senior government officials weighed in on the matter.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (
Details regarding the nature of the request -- which was reportedly made to an as-of-yet unnamed private advertising company -- and the manner in which it was delivered were sketchy.
The Government Information Office (GIO) reported on Thursday that the "National Olympic Committee in Athens" had asked that advertisements and publicity posters be removed. The office said it believed that the request came after "pressure from China."
The ads are part of the GIO's publicity campaign, "Taiwan on the Starting Line" which is designed to coincide with the Olympic Games on Aug 13.
The GIO also plans on having large outdoor billboards erected along major thoroughfares in Athens, as well as placing posters featuring images of Taiwan on the exteriors of electric trams.
Publicity posters have also been placed on 500 luggage carts at the Athens International Airport.
Despite the committee's request, the ads have not been removed. Chen said it is still unclear whether China is behind the committee's move.
"No matter who is behind this action, such behavior is unwelcome in Taiwan," he added.
Meanwhile, Vice President Annette Lu (
"In the future, just as women carry mace with them all the time, when Taiwanese travel abroad they should carry with them signs reading `Taiwan, Go Go Go!' and `Shame on China!'" Lu said during a radio interview yesterday.
"`Taiwan Go Go Go!' can be used to cheer Taiwan on at the appropriate time. But when one encounters Chinese intimidation, the `Shame on China' sign can be used," Lu added.
In addition to offering travel advice, Lu also said that the establishment of a "Friends of Taiwan International" group would allow for an immediate response to be made whenever Taiwan is threatened or insulted.
Lu said that she was very angry upon learning of China's alleged use of intimidation tactics to try to remove the promotional posters, but added that she was not surprised.
"Although Taiwan is small, Taiwanese people have big hearts. Although China is big, it is a stingy nation," Lu said.
Chen, however, thought that the problem required a different approach. He said Taiwan's representative office in Athens must supplement the Government Information Office's efforts in safeguarding Taiwan's sovereignty in the Olympic Games.
"Getting together peacefully to exhibit sportsmanship is the central spirit of the Games. This is also the key spirit for people living in the global village," he said.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (
"With regards to the Olympics posters, Taiwan has used peaceful means to spread a positive image of itself. If China wants to bully Taiwan on this issue as well, this will only cause the citizens on both sides of the strait to drift apart and lead to Taiwanese resentment," Wu said.
MAC Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (
In related news, the country's representative office in Athens cautioned Taiwanese watching the Games in the city against waving any flag apart from the Taiwanese delegation's official flag, which was approved by the International Olympic Committee.
Differing from the national flag of the Republic of China, the Taiwanese delegation's official flag consists of five rings and a plum blossom, the country's national flower. The delegation is formally registered as the "Chinese Taipei" team.
"If our citizens wave other flags to cheer our up team in the Games, security guards may stop their behavior or even drive them out," the representative office warned in a statement.
To serve Taiwanese tourists in Athens during the Olympic Games, the representative office will have staff fluent in Chinese, English and Greek on duty every day until Sept. 2.
The representative office's has three phone lines to serve Taiwanese: (+30-210) 677-6750, 677-5121, 677-5122.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS