Taipei City councilors demanded an apology from Internet portal Yahoo-Kimo Taiwan yesterday for including “Taiwan” in its list of illegal Chinese characters, preventing users from applying for accounts using the word.
Although Yahoo-Kimo immediately removed the ban early yesterday, some Taipei City councilors from the pan-green camp challenged the search engine company over its purpose of banning the word “Taiwan,” and demanded that it offer an apology and a clear explanation as to why it put the ban in place.
“We don’t know if Yahoo-Kimo was cooperating with China in suppressing Taiwan or the company adopted a new set of rules because the new government is pro-China,” Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Lee Ching-feng (李慶鋒) said yesterday at the Taipei City Council.
Lee said only Yahoo-Kimo Taiwan and China banned users from applying for accounts with the word “Taiwan.” The term could still be used to apply for an account on Yahoo Hong Kong and Canada during the ban.
When applying for an “ilovetaiwan” e-mail account on Wednesday, the Web site refused the request, saying “the username contains illegal characters,” rather than “the username is being used,” he said.
Lee said Yahoo-Kimo Taiwan removed the ban after a provisional meeting yesterday.
Independent Taipei City Councilor Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) joined Lee in condemning Yahoo-Kimo Taiwan, and called on the public to write letters to the company protesting against its moves.
Chen and Lee also urged the public to boycott the company if it failed to explain the matter.
In response, a public relations representative from the company told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday that the company initially restricted user names containing the word “Taiwan” because the local Internet search giant refers to itself as Yahoo, Taiwan. To the company, “Yahoo” and “Taiwan” are two keywords that are intricately linked, the representative said.
Yahoo-Kimo also has a list of keywords not allowed on its e-mail account names such as words related to pornography and brand names, said the representative, who wished not to be identified.
To prevent any misunderstanding, the Internet portal had blocked all e-mail account applications with user names containing Taiwan for fear people might affiliate them with the company.
But because of the overwhelming amount of feedback it received from users, the online auctioneers lifted the ban on Wednesday afternoon, the representative said, adding that the technology has been updated at midnight yesterday.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ELIZABETH TCHII
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust