The Tourism Bureau has been accused of becoming a political tool and thug of the Chinese government after it asked local governments to remove posters and boards put up by the Falun Gong movement at tourist attractions to prevent them from tarnishing the nation’s image.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the bureau recently issued an official document to local governments saying that “a member of the public has complained about the billboards the Falun Gong installed at several sightseeing hotspots, worrying that they might negatively affect foreign tourists’ perceptions of the country.”
The document instructed local officials to step up inspection efforts and ensure the removal of “inappropriate” material.
The bureau’s move has drawn fierce criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and borough wardens, with some critics saying that while President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has long been known for its pro-China stance, it was preposterous to see the bureau acting as a hired thug for the Chinese government.
DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said the public’s right to advertise is part of their constitutionally protected freedom of speech and that the bureau’s actions show that Taiwan is inferior to Macau in terms of protection of basic human rights, because Macau allows Falun Gong practitioners to set up stalls in public places to promote their beliefs.
“In what way have the Falun Gong’s advertisements impeded tourism development in this country? How could the government take down its billboards and keep them out of the sight of Chinese tourists just because the Chinese government is not a fan of the group?” Tien said.
The bureau should identify the “member of the public” who complained and say if the person is a Republic of China (ROC) citizen, she said.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said the Ma administration should know that for Chinese tourists, who have grown up under an isolated, autocratic regime, the Falun Gong posters are not a hindrance to Taiwan’s tourism, but a sign of the nation’s democratic achievements and cultural diversity.
“The only one minding the Falun Gong is the Chinese government, which is why it has sought every possible means to pressure the Ma administration into removing the group’s ads. If we cooperate, it would be no different from pandering to the Chinese government and murdering the nation’s democracy,” Chen said.
Chen Jen-jung (陳仁榮), warden of Greater Taichung’s Guoguang Borough (國光), said the bureau’s policy raises questions about whether the Ma government is acting in response to political pressure from China or making some kind of political gesture.
“There are countless organizations putting up illegal billboards across the country, yet the bureau is aiming its guns only at the Falun Gong,” he said.
The bureau on Tuesday said the complainant was an ROC citizen surnamed Tu (杜), who filed the complaint via e-mail on Sept.1.
Tu wrote that rampant illegal advertising was destroying the nation’s landscape and he singled out the Falun Gong, the bureau said, adding that Tu wanted the bureau to take down all illegal ads and billboards, not just the ones posted by the Falun Gong.
“The document we issued only reflects the man’s personal opinion and does not represent the bureau’s position,” it said.
Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Chang Hsi-tsung (張錫聰) said the agency would pay more attention to the wording of its documents to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS