The Mainland Affairs Council has lodged a complaint with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) after the nationality of Taiwanese violinist Tseng Yu-chien (曾宇謙) was changed from “Taiwan” to “China Taipei” at a prize-winners’ concert in Moscow, council spokesperson Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) said.
Tseng won the silver medal in the violin category at the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow on Wednesday last week.
At the prize-winners’ concert on Friday last week, Tseng was introduced as being from “China Taipei.” Tseng’s nationality was also changed from “Taiwan” to “China Taipei” on the official Web site of the event after he won the silver medal.
“It was an affront to the Republic of China’s (ROC) dignity,” Wu said. “China has no right to stake a claim on Taiwan’s excellence in cultural performance and its actions have offered no respect for the feelings and dignity of the Taiwanese people.”
“The TAO should be practical about the rights of Taiwanese citizens to be active on the international stage and not seek to undermine the hard-won mutual trust and results of the cross-strait relationship,” Wu said.
When Tseng returned to Taiwan on Wednesday, he said he was sorry to hear of the imposed change in his nationality, adding that he had registered his nationality as “Taiwanese” at every stage of the competition.
He said one way to combat the nationality change is for more young Taiwanese to become successful in their respective fields.
“As more Taiwanese win renown on the international stage, the global community will see Taiwan as it is and give us our due,” he said.
Tseng said the award he received still used “Taiwan” as his nationality and joked that he will have to keep it safe so it is not changed too.
When asked why the nation’s representative to Russia, Chen Chun-shen (陳俊賢), had not lodged a complaint at the concert, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign representatives were present at the event and Chen had been unable to move freely due to tight security.
The Representative Office in Moscow for the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission filed a complaint with the host of the concert afterwards, the ministry said.
Additional reporting by Yang Yuan-ting and Chu Pei-hsiung
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS