An influential US conservative Christian group threatened Thursday to boycott Ford vehicles after the auto giant said it would resume advertising in gay publications.
The American Family Association, which claims more than three million supporters, said Ford had reneged on a deal to pull ads from the gay media.
"We had an agreement with Ford, worked out in good faith. Unfortunately, some Ford Motor Company officials made the decision to violate the good-faith agreement," AFA chairman Donald Wildmon said.
"We are now considering our response to the violation and expect to reach a decision very soon," the veteran Methodist minister said, adding "the option of a boycott is now very much alive."
The controversy has placed Ford in the midst of the US "culture war," caught between the powerful Christian right and the vocal gay lobby.
The AFA called for a boycott of Ford this year because of the company's "support for the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage," but claimed a victory on Dec. 1 saying "our concerns are being addressed."
Rumors of a "secret deal" between Ford and the AFA sparked an outcry from rights groups, prompting Ford to state Wednesday that it would continue advertising in the gay press.
"It is clear there is a misperception about our intent," Ford said in a letter to seven rights group. "As a result we have decided to run corporate ads in these targeted publications that will include not only Jaguar/Land Rover but all eight of Ford's vehicle brands."
Ford denied that any deal had been made and insisted that the decision to cease advertising its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications was part of a broad restructuring of advertising budgets at the luxury marques.
It also noted that its Volvo brand would continue to advertise in the gay press. But a number of rights organizations asked Ford to reaffirm its commitment to gay rights.
Company chairman Bill Ford did that on Monday with a statement that said the company values all people regardless of their racial, religious or sexual identity.
On Wednesday, Ford extended that commitment by stating it would continue to support non-profit groups and events in the gay and lesbian community.
Wildmon, however, insisted that AFA and Ford officials had hammered out an agreement that prompted the Christian group to call off its earlier boycott threat.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique