The Mainland Affairs Council and lawmakers yesterday accused a visiting Chinese university student of denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty by referring to the national baseball team that won a first-ever Premier12 title as “China, Taipei team” (中國台北隊).
“We deeply regret the Chinese student’s words, that have hurt the feelings of Taiwanese... The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, as the organizers, should remind group members not to use inappropriate words and behavior,” a council statement said.
“We hope these young Chinese can accurately observe the true views of Taiwanese, which would be a positive development for interactions between young people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait,” it said.
Photo: Hsu Kuo-chen, Taipei Times
A group of 40 Chinese university students and faculty members arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday last week for a nine-day trip at the invitation of the foundation established by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
When touring the baseball stadium in Taichung on Sunday, one of the students, Song Siyao (宋思瑤) from Shanghai’s Fudan University, was interviewed by reporters and asked her thoughts on Taiwan winning the Premier12 baseball competition.
“We want to congratulate the China, Taipei team,” she said. “We wish mainland China and Taiwan compatriots [台灣同胞] can be like the team Chinatrust Brothers and work together for the motherland [祖國] to take baseball to a higher level.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) denounced the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, saying it organized the visit on the pretext of academic exchanges and interactions between students, when in reality it is engaging in Chinese political propaganda by using “united front” rhetoric.
“If they are engaging in proper and healthy interactions here, why would the Chinese student talk about the ‘China, Taipei team’ and hurting the public’s feelings,” Wu said. “When they are here, they can enjoy Taiwan’s democratic system, academic freedoms and a society full of diversity. We hope they can take those perspectives back to China.”
Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), director of Taiwan Forever Society, also criticized the student.
“The Chinese students are forceful in barging their way into Taiwan and belittling our national baseball team as the ‘China, Taipei team.’ This is ‘united front’ rhetoric aimed at denying Taiwan’s status and disparaging Taiwanese baseball,” he said.
“Ma owes an apology to all Taiwanese baseball fans... He has created this stage for Chinese students to attack Team Taiwan and he is the mastermind behind this controversy, while we the taxpayers are still paying for his pension and for his protection as a former president,” he added.
The incident also sparked a furor online, with Taiwanese posting angry messages on baseball and sports Web sites.
“Our baseball winners are Team Taiwan, we don’t know who ‘China, Taipei team’ are,” one user wrote.
“This female student has nice smile and talks sweetly, but her words are nauseating,” another wrote.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS