Taiwan has become the object of a US congressional battle, with a Republican candidate accusing his Democrat opponent in a new TV ad of violating house rules by having lobbyists pay for a US$22,000 trip to Taiwan last year — except there’s a problem: the ad shows the Chinese flag as a backdrop.
The ad, paid for by Republican congressional candidate Matt Doheny, has led to some head scratching in the US and accusations that the “inflammatory” error could mislead the US public.
At one point, the ad shows a composite image of New York Congressman Bill Owens on the left-hand side of the screen, holding a blown-up picture of a first-class airline ticket. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) stands in mid-screen, also holding the airline ticket. In the background is a supine white island in the shape of Taiwan, with the word “Taiwan” inscribed on it in black, while the right-hand side of the screen displays two yellow stars on a red background, in what is clearly the flag of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Reporting the matter on Monday, WPTZ News Channel 5 contacted Doheny to ask for an explanation and whether the mistake might inflame anti-China sentiment among US voters.
An unapologetic Doheny repeatedly evaded questions about the flag, though at one point he said: “Obviously, there’s two parts of China.”
“Well look, you think about what the issues are — people want to make sure that we have economic growth, jobs,” he said. “That’s what my campaign’s all about and again this [Owen’s] trip doesn’t lead to that. It only broke the rules.”
Asked if he planned to change the ad, Doheny declined to comment.
In its attempt to shed light on Taiwan’s situation, the TV station did not quite get all the history right either, though it rightly distinguished between the two flags.
“Although Taiwan is diplomatically a part of China and has never officially seceded, the Asian country does consider itself an independent nation, and they do have their own flag, which is clearly different from the People’s Republic of China’s,” it said.
The reporter then called the Taiwanese consulate to double-check, whereupon a female voice described the colors and patterns of the flag used by Taiwan.
“It’s red and blue, with a white star [sic] on it,” the woman said.
Owens, who denies any wrongdoing by having the US$22,000 trip he and his wife Jane made in December last year paid for by Washington lobbyists, has since repaid the money, and told WPTZ that the use of the PRC flag was “clearly, like the rest of the ad, misleading.”
He said his campaign had launched a counter-ad.
In Taipei, acting-Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Calvin Ho (何震寰) said the ministry would not comment on the campaign ad to avoid interfering in the election.
The ministry has no knowledge of the motivations behind the use of the PRC flag in the campaign ad, Ho said.
Should similar incidents involving foreign governments occur again and in a way that would have a negative impact on the nation’s interests, the ministry will not hesitate to lodge a protest, Ho said.
Asked if the campaign ad was one such harmful incident, Ho would not comment.
“There is no doubt that the country Owens visited was the Republic of China,” Ho said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
SPEEDING ELETRIC VEHICLES: Available without license requirements, the low-cost vehicles, especially if illicitly modified, can often reach a dangerous speed The government should crack down on illegal electric bicycles and scooters, the non-profit Consumers’ Foundation said on Friday, citing research on the potentially dangerous speed of the vehicles. Electric bicycles and lightweight electric scooters have gained popularity as they do not require registration and riders do not need licenses, the foundation said, adding that as many as 40 percent of them can reach speeds exceeding the legal limit of 25kph for non-licensed two-wheelers. Some consumers also purchased legal electric vehicles and modified them to reach higher speeds, it said. “If the government does not step up efforts to confiscate these
NEW CASE REPORTED: A man who returned from South Africa on a flight with the nation’s 460th and 461st cases has now tested positive for the disease The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that there is no need to test all arrivals to the nation for COVID-19, a policy the Executive Yuan supports. The center reported one new imported case, bringing the nation’s tally of confirmed cases to 477. The new case is a Taiwanese man in his 60s who on July 25 returned from South Africa, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also the CECC’s spokesman. The man had returned to Taiwan on the same flight as cases Nos. 460 and 461, reported on July 27, Chuang said. On July 24,
More than half of Taiwan’s middle-aged population, those aged between 40 and 64, have at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar — and an unhealthy waist size, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said, adding that more than 30 percent also have metabolic syndrome. The HPA, the Taiwan Millennium Health Foundation and local health departments are cooperating to encourage people to regularly measure their waist circumference and keep it at a healthy size — no more than 90cm for adult men and no more than 80cm for adult women. Taichung Veterans General
‘RELIABLE PARTNER’: US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar praised the ‘Taiwan model,’ saying that the nation brought its spirit to its COVID-19 response The first memorandum of understanding (MOU) on health cooperation between the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the US Department of Health and Human Services was yesterday signed at the Centers for Disease Control in Taipei. The memorandum was signed between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, by AIT Director Brent Christensen and Taiwan Council for US Affairs Chairperson Jen-ni Yang (楊珍妮). US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) witnessed the signing of the memorandum, designed to enhance the nations’
RSS