Legislators yesterday pressured Sports Administration Director-General Lin Te-fu (林德福) to take a tougher stance on speaking up for Taiwanese rights, freedom of expression and for fans’ enthusiasm cheering of the nation’s athletes at this year’s Taipei Summer Universiade.
Lin, appearing at the Education and Culture Committee, said that 49 of the planned 53 Taipei Universiade competition sites have been completed.
He praised Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) for doing a good job of drumming up publicity for the Games, which are to be held from Aug. 19 to 30.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) asked Lin to stand up for Taiwanese rights and freedom of expression, and to allow fans to wave national flags, write slogans and display other items to create a lively atmosphere at the event.
“We understand the need to balance freedom of expression and following regulations,” Wu said, “but, as the Universiade Games are being held here in our nation, I do not see how officials can stop our fans from using our national flag at venues to cheer on competitors.”
Lin said he had spoken with International University Sports Federation officials, who are in charge of Universiade events, and they said that general political slogans are prohibited.
“We have to follow the ‘Olympic model’ for international competitions,” he added.
However, Wu said that regulations for Univsersiade events and most international tournaments do not apply to ticket-holding spectators.
She said that many fans attending the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung displayed the national flag and wore clothing and headwear with patriotic symbols and that event went ahead without major problems.
“Spectators will be permitted to display the national flag at Univsersiade events,” Lin said.
Wu showed the committee a Bravo Bear (熊讚) official Taipei Universiade mascot wearing a national flag and the slogan “Taiwan is Taiwan” (台灣就是台灣).
“This is what some Taiwanese fans will bring to the Games to cheer for our nation’s athletes. Do you think this is political slogan,” Wu asked.
“Where do you draw the line? What if some people are concerned about human rights in China, and they put on Bravo Bear with the slogan ‘Release Lee Ming-che (李明哲),’ can they do that?” he asked.
Other DPP legislators said Lin should designate protest zones outside Games venues, as a number of activist groups plan to hold demonstrations to demand “Taiwan” is used at domestic and international sporting events instead of “Chinese Taipei.”
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
DEMAND: The government should enact regulations in line with Austria and Germany to incorporate vegan nutrition into school meals, an advocate said More than 1,000 people yesterday marched in Taipei to promote veganism, calling for legislation to incorporate vegan diets into school lunches and the national net zero emissions program. Participants gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building for the march, which was organized by the Vegan Action Network (VAN). Former ambassador to Chad Chiu Chung-jen (邱仲仁), actor Yankee Yang (楊子儀) and actress Cindy Lien (連俞涵) attended the event. VAN member Marianne Chao (趙梅君) said that the campaign aimed to urge the government to promote vegan diets across schools and government agencies via legislation and national policies, which would help build
RSS