China has obstructed the participation of Taiwan's representative in the Miss Universe contest.
Chen Szu-yu (
Chen, 25, who is currently a student at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, arrived in Panama City on May 5 under the escort of Shih Huei (
Chen was Miss Chinese Melbourne in 2001.
Over the past two weeks, Chen, standing 170cm tall and weighing 50kg, was in the spotlight wherever she went, surpassing in popularity the Taiwan Friendship Fleet, which had made several port calls in Panama City before May 20.
As "Miss Taiwan Chen Szu-yu" had become a household name in Panama City, people there, including the media, were baffled and obviously had no idea what was going on when she appeared in the first formal stage activity last Saturday wearing a "Chinese Taipei" sash instead of "Miss Taiwan" one.
Chen argued tearfully with the pageant authorities for her "Miss Taiwan" sash, but failed. Having no choice, she appeared with the name that was changed without her consent and as a result of China's meddling.
The pageant authorities told Chen that she can wear her "Miss Taiwan" strip when she is not on stage. This makes her the only contestant at the Miss Universe pageant to have "dual nationality."
Shih said her company is planning to file a lawsuit against the Miss Universe pageant authorities for reneging on their contract that the two sides had signed, in which it was agreed that Chen was to take part in the pageant in her capacity as Miss Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Wang Weihua (
Shih said it is as clear as day who is polluting the beauty pageant with political obstruction and who is "grinding an axe."
Shih said it's ironic that while the Chinese spare no efforts to obstruct Taiwan openly, they take advantage of the Taiwanese people whenever they can, including the fact that Miss China cannot even speak any English and had stuck to Chen like a shadow -- even when she was using the bathroom -- over the past several days.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS