In the second such incident reported in one week, a member of the pro-unification Patriot Association (愛國同心會) allegedly berated Japanese students and their tour guide outside Taipei 101 on Thursday, insulting them in both Chinese and Japanese.
A Taiwanese tour guide working with a group of Japanese tourists subsequently dialled 110 to summon emergency services after the high-school-aged tourists were verbally attacked by a member of the Patriot Association who is said to be a regular outside the building handing out brochures.
The tourists were making their way to Taipei 101 at about 1pm when the incident occurred.
According to a tour guide surnamed Fan (范), when the group arrived at the building, he and three Japanese teachers encountered the man associated with the Patriot Association.
Fan said he explained that the group was from Japan and politely refused the pamphlets, after which the man in his 60s allegedly began calling Fan a “Japanese running dog” and the teachers “Japanese devils.”
Fan said he then immediately led the group away, wanting to avoid any trouble.
At about 4pm, Fan said he returned to the square to meet with another group of Japanese tourists at which time the same man allegedly began swearing at tour group members in Japanese.
Not willing to be humiliated, some of the students attempted to defend themselves, but were urged onto the waiting bus, Fan said.
Another tour guide, surnamed Lin (林), said he called the police and filed a report.
The police said a similar incident had occurred a week earlier involving another group of Japanese tourists, Lin said.
Commenting on the case, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Yen sheng-kuan (顏聖冠) strongly criticized the actions of association members as greatly harmful to Taipei, adding that police should have given a more active response.
Taipei City Government spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said the city would attempt to speak with the association to better understand its members’ actions.
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