When Taoyuan County commissioner Annette Lu first decided to place an advertisement in two influential US papers saluting China on its national day, the copy read: "While Beijing is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the birth of the PRC today, the people of Taiwan express our sincere hope of living in peace with China."
The new copy, written after the 921 earthquake struck Taiwan, changes the tone dramatically and now reads: "China will never become a leading nation in the modern world by bullying Taiwan and exploiting her tragedy, or by manipulating the benevolence of the international community and efforts to send earthquake relief, in order to assert territorial sovereignty over Taiwan."
Following the actions China took, and statements it made, in the aftermath of the 921 earthquake in Taiwan, the ad's headline and some its copy was changed to reflect what had transpired.
While the original version was friendly in spirit, the ad that will appear in today's editions of The New York Times and The Washington Post criticizes Beijing pointedly for trying to bully Taiwan and exploit the 921 earthquake.
In a commentary published in the Taipei Times today, Lu criticizes China for the way it acted in the aftermath of the earthquake, noting: "In as much as the Chinese government fails to reflect on itself after more than half a century in power, its callousness has been laid bare for all to see."
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