Iap Phok-bun (葉博文), founder of the Taipek Kiangshen Rotary Club, a sub-district of the Taiwan chapter, gave the example of China's treatment of the Falun Gong to demonstrate why he thought the club was not suitable for a communist country.
"If, however, China later became a member of Rotary Club International, the Taiwan chapter would definitely work to maintain Taiwan's respect and dignity and not to have our membership name changed because of China," Iap said.
Rotary, an organization of business and professional leaders, operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. It has about 1.2 million members in more than 30,000 clubs.
According to Iap, Taiwan chapter has been a member to the Rotary Club International for more than 70 years.
Surprise
However, Rotary International's Taiwan chapter has not always been pleased with the way its headquarters has treated it.
"When I applied to found a sub-chapter in 1996, I found out that the Taiwan chapter had been called `Taiwan China,'" Iap said.
"When I realized this absurdity, I wrote a protest letter to the NGO's headquarters and had chapter members sign a petition to have our membership name changed to `Taiwan,'" he said.
After Frank Dailyn, then president of Rotary International, visited Taiwan in 1998, he took home the name-change proposal from the Taiwan chapter, Iap said. The organization's headquarters decided very quickly to accept the proposal and change the name from "Taiwan China" to "Taiwan," he said.
"Throughout the entire process, Rotary Clubs International headquarters did not give us any trouble regarding our request for a name change," Iap said.
"What surprised me was that after the chapter finally had its membership name rectified, unbelievably to me, there were still a few voices within the chapter a couple of years ago who wanted to have our membership name changed to be called `ROC,'" he said.
Iap argued that the chapter should stick to the name "Taiwan" because it was more recognizable to people around the world than that the name "ROC."
"Taiwanese people who have experienced traveling abroad know what I am talking bout," he said.
"When you say you are from Taiwan, you are acknowledged with a sense of recognition of where you are from," Iap said. "But when you said that you are from the ROC, people in foreign countries are often clueless and then mistake you as someone from mainland China."
Iap said the issue was settled with a vote among the chapter members last month. "About 90 percent favored being called `Taiwan' and only 1 percent favored being addressed as `ROC.'"
Iap recommended that the Taiwan chapter of LCI stand its ground in the face of China's aggressive push to change its name.
Iap suggested that LCI's Taiwan chapter should consider seeking assistance and support from its sister clubs in other countries.
"These sister clubs have witnessed the Taiwan chapter's contribution and commitment to the LCI all these decades," Iap said, "and thus they can play an important role in supporting the Taiwan chapter from being sacrificed."
"We should stand up for what we believe and not be intimidated and pushed around," he said. As long as the chapter demonstrates its "actual strength and merit," it should succeed, he said.
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