Netizens from Taiwan and China have been engaged in a heated debate over the appropriateness of Taiwanese singer-songwriter Deserts Chang (張懸) bringing a Republic of China (ROC) national flag on stage at her concert in the UK on Saturday, a move that was met with angry shouts from a Chinese woman in the audience.
The conflict broke out in the middle of the show at the University of Manchester when Chang took an ROC flag from a group of Taiwanese students in the front row and unfurled it on stage, saying: “I see there are also people who bring a national flag to the concert. I have not felt so patriotic for a while ... and I am from Taiwan.”
The singer’s gesture apparently enraged the Chinese fan, who shouted: “There are students from mainland [China] here. No politics today.”
To which Chang said: “It’s not politics, it is just a flag that represents where I am from.”
The argument continued on the blogosphere on Monday, when a user of the Chinese social networking site Douban.com who identified herself as the Chinese woman who was shouting at the concert, posted an article defending her outburst.
“I just want to point out the fact that she [Chang] did use the words ‘national flag,’ which, according to Wikipedia, means: ‘A flag that symbolizes a country,’” the woman wrote.
She went on to say that she respected the opinions of Chang and everyone who comes from Taiwan, adding that she could not care less what they said about such a “sensitive subject” in private.
“However, as a star whose words carry significant weight, she [Chang] went too far when she brought the subject to the table,” the woman said, adding: “Deserts Chang is dead to me now.”
The woman also criticized other Chinese fans at the concert for not backing her up when their “bottom lines were being challenged.”
In response, Chang issued a statement on her Facebook page yesterday in which she said she did not have any politically driven ulterior motives when she unfurled the flag, nor was she trying to advocate her political views when the Chinese woman interrupted her.
“Most of the audience that day were ethnic Chinese. I saw a group of Taiwanese students waving the flag along with a cardboard sign with my name on it in the middle of my performance, so I brought them to the stage,” Chang said in the statement.
Chang added that it was not her intention to set a political tone for the performance by waving the flag.
“I am perfectly aware that ROC national flags are a sensitive symbol for some and I have also given a lot of thought regarding my national identity for years,” the singer said. “In spite of everything, I still don’t want to run away from any opportunities to interact [with Chinese people] or to avoid talking about what the flag means to you and me,” Chang said.
“I truly hope that someday, somewhere, in all places and to anybody, we can always talk to each other and we can always listen,” she said.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS