Dozens of Taiwan independence advocates yesterday successfully challenged a ban against symbolic independence flags at the Taipei Summer Universiade closing ceremony, while pension reform opponents dropped their protest plans after a public outcry.
Shouting “One China, One Taiwan” and “Taiwan is not Chinese Taipei,” members of the Taiwan Radical Wings Party, Free Taiwan Party and other groups held up their closing ceremony tickets as they worked their way slowly through a long corridor of police officers while waving green independence flags.
They were repeatedly stopped, but were eventually allowed through the security checkpoint outside the Taipei Municipal Stadium on the condition that each person carry only one flag.
Photo: CNA
The Taipei City Government had banned spectators from taking “political material” into the event, with a Taipei Times reporter confronted by police for holding an independence leaflet.
The leaflets, which were being handed out outside the security checkpoint, mocked a city government decision to allow small Republic of China (ROC) flags into the venue.
While one side was emblazoned with a ROC flag, the upper left corner of the flag could be lifted to reveal the five stars of the People’s Republic of China flag. The opposite side of the page called for the establishment of a “Taiwan republic.”
Photo: CNA
While it had previously been reported that symbolic Taiwanese flags would not be considered “political material,” police at the Universiade opening ceremony confiscated large numbers of flags.
“Taiwanese deserve to have their own nation and not to be forced into the ‘Chinese Taipei’ formula,” protesters said. “We are here because other countries are not going to speak for us. Only if we speak for ourselves will they know that we consider ourselves Taiwanese.”
A small group of counter-protesters waving ROC flags also demonstrated outside the Taipei Municipal Stadium, with two men carted away by police officers after attempting to break through with a large ROC flag.
The closing ceremony was also marked by an absence of the pension reform protesters who disrupted the opening ceremony on Aug. 19, sparking a massive public outcry.
Taiwan Civil Service Innovation Coalition members instead passed out pamphlets thanking government workers for their efforts hosting the Games.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
RSS