President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday thanked the nations that supported Taiwan when the world’s largest freediving organization removed the national flag during a live feed after China’s official broadcaster complained.
The International Association for the Development of Apnea (AIDA) removed Taiwan’s flag during a live broadcast of the Individual Depth Freediving World Championship in Cyprus on Tuesday, in which five Taiwanese divers competed.
The organization said that it removed the flag after the broadcaster complained that displaying the flag would affect its broadcast of the event, leaving Taiwan as the only one among the 44 participating nations without a flag.
Photo courtesy of AIDA Taiwan via CNA
The organization on Thursday apologized, saying: “We learn from our mistakes and we’ll set different streams from now on to prevent this from happening again.”
However, AIDA Taiwan said that even though AIDA president Alexandru Russu had apologized to the Taiwanese delegation on the day of the event, the organization would not show the flag again during the broadcast on Wednesday and Thursday.
AIDA Taiwan said it was given two options: Either leave the space for the flag blank or compete under the banner of Chinese Taipei, as the nation did in the Tokyo Olympics.
The Taiwanese athletes subsequently asked the organizers to leave the space blank, as the flag used in the Olympics “signifies the long oppression [of Taiwan] by China” on the international stage, AIDA Taiwan said in an open letter published on Facebook. “If AIDA International could so easily take down the national flag of one of their member states simply because of the Chinese market or sponsors’ will, we raise the question where is the spirit and dignity of AIDA as a non-profit organization when facing such temptations.”
AIDA Taiwan called on the organizers to explain their decision and initiate an internal investigation into the matter, while urging other participating nations to support Taiwan’s request.
Japan was the first among at least 10 countries that subsequently requested the organizers remove their flags in solidarity with Taiwan.
“AIDA Japan strongly requests AIDA International. Please remove the Japanese flag from the competition list on YouTube LIVE,” AIDA Japan said in an open message. “We cannot overlook the situation that only Taiwan is disadvantaged. We want to share the pain with Taiwan.”
Countries that removed their national flags included Germany, Russia, South Korea and the US.
“I thank the athletes from these countries for showing their will and supporting Taiwan,” Tsai wrote on Facebook.
When entering Thursday’s competition, Taiwanese participants flashed the national flag.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) office yesterday said in a statement that the broadcaster complained and threatened to end the broadcast, as it feared that Chinese might see the Republic of China flag.
The decision to remove the flag without consultation is unacceptable, the office said, rejecting the organizers’ apology.
It urged Beijing to allow the display of the flag, saying that the broadcaster’s move contributed to many China-friendly Taiwanese becoming alienated.
The office also thanked the athletes of other nations who stood with Taiwan and requested that their flags be removed.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang and Shih Hsiao-kuang
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS