The Taiwanese community in Los Angeles formed a special committee yesterday to push the Los Angeles municipal government to change a road sign on which Taipei is named as a city of China."
The committee, composed of senior executives of the three largest Taiwanese associations in Los Angeles, will lodge a protest with the city government tomorrow over the arbitrary name change, a spokesman said.
"We'll demand the city government immediately remove the word `China' at the end of `Taipei' on a road sign which lists the city's 22 sister cities around the world," the spokesman said.
If the city government fails to respond its demand, the spokesman said, the committee will mobilize major Taiwanese groups to demonstrate in front of the Los Angeles city hall.
Over the past few days, many Taiwan expatriates in Los Angeles have voiced strong protests to the city government by phone or e-mail, the spokesman said.
Taipei entered into sisterhood ties with Los Angeles more than two decades ago.
The Los Angeles government erected the road sign on Sept. 18 with the names of its 22 sister cities, including Taipei, around the world to highlight Los Angeles' status as an international city.
When the road sign was inaugurated, Jason C. Yuan, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, was invited by L.A. Mayor James K. Hahn to witness the event.
However, on Nov. 14 -- without any fanfare -- the city government added the word "China" to the end of "Taipei Municipality, Taiwan" to indicate that Taipei is part of China.
The move has reportedly alarmed a significant portion of the large ethnic Chinese population in the city, many of whom are firm supporters of the Republic of China.
An official from the ROC's representative office in Los Angeles said his office has already sent a letter to the city hall to protest the change.
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