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Cabinet 'regrets' cheer episode

By Flora Wang

and Ko Shu-ling

Staff Reporters

The Cabinet expressed regret yesterday over China’s decision to refuse Cheerleading Squad for Taiwan captain Yang Hui-ju’s (楊蕙如) entrance to Beijing on her way to cheer the Taiwanese team on Saturday.

The Executive Yuan issued a press release yesterday afternoon, reiterating a statement released by the Sports Affairs Council on Saturday that said it was unreasonable for China to refuse Yang’s entrance since Yang had presented valid travel documents.

“The council urged the Chinese government to respect sports fans’ rights during the Olympic Games,” the Cabinet release said.

Yang told reporters upon returning to Taiwan on Saturday night that Beijing airport police had examined her Taiwan compatriot entry permit and muttered: “There’s a problem.”

“They kept going through my stuff, took away my cellphone and stopped me from answering it. I felt horrible,” she said.

After questioning, Yang said the airport police said “higher-ups” had “ordered” that she and her friend be sent back immediately. They were put on a flight to Hong Kong.

“I really don’t know what to say. [They] were really ridiculous. Suddenly, I feel it is pitiful to be Taiwanese,” she said.

The cheerleader squad normally wears yellow uniforms bearing the Taiwanese flag and the English slogan: “Taiwan Woo!”

They also normally wave Taiwanese flags as part of their routine.

But the cheerleading squad had said it would drop the national symbols to cheer for the nation’s athletes in Beijing.

Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Chang Liang-jen (張良任) yesterday urged Beijing to respect the legal rights of spectators, saying the matter could have been more properly dealt with had the Chinese government contacted Taiwan’s emergency response task force in Beijing when the situation occurred.

Expressing regret for what had happened, Chang, who presides over the team in Taipei, said that the task force sent to Beijing and led by Minister without Portfolio Ovid Tseng (曾志朗) had already lodged a protest there via “related channels,” but he declined to reveal what they were.

While the team in Taipei takes care of political issues and other matters that task force members sent to Beijing can not handle, the task force members led by Tseng deal with matters only concerning sports activities and any related conflicts.

Chang said Taipei and Beijing were in close contact regarding the matter and they were assured Yang was safe. Chang said he would contact Yang today to gain a better understanding of the matter.

Regarding media reports that Taiwanese government officials were given different National Olympic Committee (NOC) cards with limited access at Olympic-related venues, Chang said the cards were not any different from those given to the dignitaries from other countries and that Taiwanese officials had received the same treatment as others who had been issued the same cards.

Chang said that the public should not confuse the NOC card with the card given to dignitaries of political parties invited by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) because they were different.

Chang dismissed media reports claiming that Sports Affairs Council Chairwoman Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) could attend only the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games as “wrong,” saying Tai could access all venues with her card.

Two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators said they were unsympathetic with Yang when asked for comment.

KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said Yang’s announcing her plan to cheer for the Taiwanese team at a media conference before leaving for Beijing was “provocative.”

Yang said during the conference that she would keep a low profile during the Games, but added that she was afraid that she “might not be able to make it back to Taiwan this time.”

KMT Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓) also criticized Yang, saying that Yang was trying to act like a heroine for Taiwanese sports fans during the Games.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), mocking KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung’s (吳伯雄) reported comments from a day earlier, said China’s actions clearly demonstrated that “Taiwanese did not enjoy ‘home field advantage’ in Beijing, instead they were being discriminated against.”

He said it was scandalous that “while the Beijing authorities blocked a normal Taiwanese citizen at its airport, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials were enjoying special treatment in Beijing,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) visited weightlifter Chen Wei-ling’s (陳葦綾) mother in Tainan to congratulate the Chen family on behalf of Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) on the bronze medal she won on Saturday.

Chen Wei-ling won Taiwan’s first medal in the Beijing Olympics in the women’s 48kg class category.

Hsueh also made a promise to Chen’s mother that he would help the weightlifter find a coaching job in the future.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
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