An alliance of civic organizations and a media outlet yesterday launched a competition to design a new flag and write a new anthem to replace the ones used by Taiwan in international sports competitions, saying that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and China have caused Taiwan to settle for the “ridiculous” name of “Chinese Taipei.”
The top prize in the flag competition is NT$100,000, while the runner-up will receive NT$30,000. The top prize for the anthem is NT$150,000, with the runner up to get NT$30,000.
Taiwan People News chairman Chen Yung-hsin (陳永興) said that Beijing has intensified efforts to suppress Taiwan, making the nation unable to join international organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Taiwan has also been forced to use “Chinese Taipei” for its teams at international competitions, a name that does not reflect the “status quo,” he said.
Chen said that a “Let Taiwan be Taiwan” campaign was launched in Japan for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which has garnered more than 50,000 signatures.
This has given Taiwanese all the more reason to rise up and speak for themselves, he said.
The organizers have produced videos to draw attention to the two contests in Mandarin and Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).
“Aborigines, immigrants old and new, no matter where you are from or which tribe you represent, we are all Taiwanese and live on this island together,” the videos say.
“Taiwan is home to some of the world’s great athletes. They have won glory and honor in many international games after years of demanding physical and mental training. However, they cannot declare to the world in a dignified manner that: ‘I am Taiwanese,’ or ‘We are Team Taiwan,’” they say.
The “lies the KMT told” were why the nation was forced to settle for the “strange” and “ridiculous” name of “Chinese Taipei,” the Mandarin version says.
“It was a mistake that was made in the past and the lies that China told that led to the nation’s plight,” the Hoklo version says.
New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said there is still room for Taiwan to be seen and heard at international sports competitions, from the design of a new flag or anthem, to athletes’ uniforms.
“A lot of creativity comes from the private sector, which is a more appropriate agent of change,” he said.
Competition organizers said they would accept flag and anthem proposals for the Tokyo Games from now until Dec. 5, adding that ideas must include the creator’s biography, previous work and titles, the size of their designs and a 100 to 120-character description of what inspired their submission.
In scoring for the winners, 50 percent will be the results of an online poll hosted by the newspaper, and 50 percent from a group of professional judges.
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
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
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
RSS