A traditionally China-friendly organization affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged Beijing to refrain from labeling Taiwanese as pro-independence without concrete evidence, after a Taiwanese actress’ television show was pulled over allegations that she supports Taiwanese independence.
“The incident over Taiwanese singer and actress Ruby Lin (林心如) is unfortunate and the result of misunderstandings,” Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) told a morning news conference in Taipei.
Chang, a political science professor at National Chengchi University, said the incident underscores a high level of hostility across the Taiwan Strait.
Photo courtesy of GTV
He also called on Beijing to rationally handle private cross-strait interactions, as “cultural exchange is the lifeline of cross-strait interactions.”
Lin rose to fame in Taiwan and China after starring in the three-season TV drama My Fair Princess (還珠格格), which was produced by Taiwanese and Chinese firms and aired in 1998.
Her new show, My Dear Boy (我的男孩), premiered in Taiwan last month and was on Sunday pulled by Chinese authorities after airing only two episodes on Tencent Holding Ltd’s (騰訊) online video platform.
The Ministry of Culture in 2016 granted a producer of the show a NT$20 million (US$677,140) subsidy, which prompted some Chinese netizens to accuse the show of being funded by “pro-independence forces” and label Lin as a supporter of Taiwanese independence, the Central News Agency said.
Lin’s office later on Sunday published a statement refuting the accusation, saying that the 42-year-old actress has never said or done anything in support of Taiwanese independence and would never do so.
It also said that the subsidy was received by Gala Television Corp (八大電視), one of the show’s producers, and that many TV series receive ministry subsidies.
School decisionmaking committee member Chiu Yi (邱毅), a former KMT lawmaker, said that although he respected Chinese consumers’ and authorities’ longtime practice of boycotting pro-independence businesses and celebrities, it should be carried out in accordance with the principle of not wronging the innocent.
“There is no direct evidence suggesting that Lin deserves the pro-independence label. She did not join the 2014 Sunflower movement, nor has she ever used any independence-leaning rhetoric,” Chiu said.
Equating ministry subsidies to support of independence reeks of McCarthyism, Chiu said, adding that doing so would not only hurt people’s feelings, but would also run counter to the spirit of China’s oft-stated phrase that “both sides belong to the same family.”
The school was established in accordance with a resolution reached by the KMT’s Central Standing Committee in November 2016, as part of the party’s reform plans following its defeat in the presidential election in January that year.
However, the school is not funded by the KMT, nor does it fall under the party’s structure.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
RSS