The National Police Agency (NPA) yesterday tried to deflect criticism after one of its officers stopped Taiwanese competitors at the World Police and Fire Games in Canada from displaying the Republic of China (ROC) flag at the opening ceremony.
The NPA in a statement said that it did not prevent athletes from showing the flag at the games.
It said that the Taiwanese winners of three gold and four silver medals at the games on Saturday all draped themselves in the ROC flag, and members of Taiwan’s delegation also held up flags at the award ceremony.
Photo courtesy of the National Police Agency
Wang Ling-hua (王令樺) of the Taipei City Police Department won two gold medals in the bikini fitness and physique competitions, while Hsu Hao-han (許顥瀚), a Miaoli firefighter, won a gold medal in wrestling.
The NPA’s statement came after Huang Yuh-min (黃郁閔), a member of the Taoyuan Fire Department, on Saturday wrote on Facebook that he and other firefighters were told by an NPA officer leading the Taiwanese delegation to put away the national flag during the opening ceremony in Winnipeg.
In a video uploaded by Huang, a police officer, wearing a shirt with the words “Chinese Taipei” on the back, referred to the “Olympic model” when requesting that Huang not display the national flag.
Photo courtesy of the National Police Agency
Huang said the police officer, using an “explicit threatening tone,” asked about his affiliated department, and the two filmed each other with cellphones before going their separate ways.
An earlier NPA statement issued on Saturday said that the agency is responsible for forming the team that participates in the biennial games, with the National Fire Agency assisting in the selection process.
One person from the department was selected and participated on official leave with travel expenses covered by the agency, while others from fire departments nationwide formed their own teams and attended the games at their own expense, which meant that they were not under the NPA’s supervision, it said.
The “Olympic model” refers to an agreement signed between the ROC and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1981 to resolve disputes over the representation of athletes from Taiwan in international sporting events. Under the agreement, Taiwanese athletes are to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” using the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee flag.
However, the World Police and Fire Games, which runs until Sunday, is not governed by the IOC.
The NPA on Saturday said it has been following the Olympic model since Taiwan’s delegation first participated in the competition in 1999.
The agency said that, based on experience, it is not guaranteed that the national flag would be displayed as expected during an opening ceremony or award presentations, given that each edition is organized by a different host.
It said that the delegation would make every effort to display the national flag without compromising the participants’ qualifications.
Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), who oversees the national police and fire agencies, on Saturday wrote on Facebook that there might have been a misunderstanding over the flag.
Lin said that he instructed NPA Director-General Huang Ming-chao (黃明昭) to convey his message to the delegation that they need not worry and encourage them to proudly display the national flag.
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS