The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office’s (TECRO) Cultural Center has dismissed accusations that it was trying to prevent a key figure in the Sunflower movement from speaking at its facility in Washington.
Academia Sinica researcher Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) applied to give a speech at the center on the “predicament and prospects facing Taiwan’s democracy” next Saturday. After receiving the application, the center consulted 63 Taiwanese expatriates on whether the application should be accepted, sparking accusations by Huang that the center was engaged in a form of ideological censorship.
“Has Taiwan’s representative office in the US subjected speakers to an ideological review in its past decisions to allow them to speak?” Huang asked.
The center responded that it consulted overseas Taiwanese about Huang’s application because the organizations sponsoring his visit sent out invitations for the speech before approval was received.
It said it was trying to be impartial in its decision and accused the applicant of coercing it into approving the request by sending out invitations first.
Huang was one of the leaders of the Sunflower movement that occupied the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber from mid-March to early April to protest a service trade agreement Taiwan signed with China in June last year.
The pact, one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) main initiatives to liberalize Taiwan’s economy, has yet to be ratified by the legislature.
The Taiwanese American Senior Society (TASS), one of the organizations that filed the application on Huang’s behalf, said it arranges an event at the venue every month and was not trying to pressure the center into approving Huang’s appearance.
It said it simply wanted a formal written reply on whether the speech could take place.
Overseas Taiwanese in the US capital are divided on the issue, with some worrying about possible protests against Huang’s speech and “chaos” at the center.
Others suggested the center should approve Huang’s application, saying Huang is not a political figure and that his speech is for academic purposes.
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