An overseas Taiwanese association is seeking public support after it was denied access to a cultural festival set to be held in September in Lyon, France, because of pressure from China.
The Association Culturelle des Taiwanais de Lyon (ACTL), which promotes Taiwan globally, said that the organizer of the Fete des Bannieres du Monde — the festival of world banners — denied its application to participate after Chinese participants threatened to withdraw if Taiwan was allowed entry.
ACTL chairwoman Yang Pei-yu (楊佩瑜) said she was surprised to learn about the rejection, as the event is perceived to have nothing to do with politics.
Photo: Screen grab from Comite des Fetes de la Ville de Lyon’s Facebook page
“We are seeking to resort to public opinion,” Yang said, adding that the association is reaching out to French media to ensure its voice is heard.
The ACTL first wrote to the organizer in October last year to ask about the application procedure, and was asked to wait until discussions between last year’s and this year’s event committee members had taken place, the association said.
However, the ACTL said it did not receive a clear response from the organizer despite trying to seek clarification multiple times since January.
It was not until the end of last month that the organizer finally responded, explaining that during discussions, Chinese participants had pressured them into blocking the ACTL, it said.
Similar interference from China also occurred last year, the ACTL said, adding that the organization had not officially registered for the event, but was stopped by Chinese festivalgoers when members tried to display Taiwan’s national flag.
The Chinese attendees threatened to call the police, the ACTL said, adding the organizer asked the association to remove the flag and register for next year’s event to showcase Taiwan.
As part of its work, the ACTL traveled to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, last month to promote Taiwan’s inclusion in the decisionmaking body of the WHO.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
RSS