The Taiwan chapter of Lions Clubs International (LCI) yesterday protested against LCI headquarters for deceiving the chapter and Presi-dent Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) over the chapter's name, said Wang Maw-hsiung (王茂雄), the chapter's Special Committee chairman.
"We thought that all the furor last year over our chapter's name has settled with the agreement to call us `MD300, Taiwan,'" Wang said, referring to an agreement signed by LCI president Kay Fukushima during a visit to Taipei last November.
"However, with our participation at the LCI International board of directors held in Hawaii last week, we found out that we are still being addressed as `China, Taiwan' -- a name that the LCI decided for us without our consent," Wang said.
Taiwan chapter secretary Chang Su-chen (張素珍) said that LCI headquarters, eyeing China's huge population and its potential membership participation in the organization, had bowed to Chinese pressure in the hope that it could expand membership there.
According to Chang, LCI headquarters officials approached the chapter's representative, Lee Ching-li (李清利), with a demand while he attended the LCI International board of directors meeting last week.
She said that LCI headquarters demanded the chapter drop the name "Taiwan" from "MD300, Taiwan" on the chapter's membership flag and suggested the chapter use a map of Taiwan instead.
"For the sake of safeguarding Taiwan's dignity and sovereignty, we refuse to cave in," Chang said. "Lee refused LCI headquarters' demand right on the spot."
"We found [the demand] totally unacceptable because we've fought hard for the name `MD300, Taiwan,'" she said.
According to Wang, Chen was delighted with the chapter's successful effort in fighting for their name to be changed from "China, Taiwan," and subsequently made a US$100,000 donation to LCI.
"So, basically, LCI has fooled us and President Chen all along," Wang said.
At the chapter's supervisory board meeting held in Taichung City yesterday afternoon, Wang said that the chapter has decided to hold a referendum on May 18 to vote on acceptance of LCI's decision to address the chapter as "China, Taiwan" and whether the members want to dissolve the chapter all together, given the LCI's absurd treatment of its members.
"We will then take the issue from there," he said, adding the chapter would consider seeking legal action against the Chicago-based LCI, if such action is deemed necessary.
"All of this sounds like a replay of what we underwent last year," Wang said, referring to the furor over the change of the chapter's name last April.
LCI headquarters decided last April to remove the Republic of China flag from the membership flag of the chapter and change the branch's name from "ROC Lions Club" to "China, Taiwan Lions Club." The decision created an uproar among members of the local chapter.
The members held a referendum and unanimously agreed to keep using the name "Taiwan" in their chapter name in the LCI.
More than 600 members also staged a peaceful protest to safeguard the chapter's name during the organization's World Convention in Osaka, Japan, last July.
The chapter also planned to file a civil lawsuit in the US against the LCI for changing its name without first seeking the consent of its members.
The dispute was finally settled last November, when both parties agreed that the chapter would be addressed as "MD300, Taiwan."
"Well, at least that was what the LCI led us believe: that the dispute was settled with [our chapter] being called `MD300, Taiwan,'" Wang said.
"MD300" is the chapter's district number.
According to Wang, the chapter has a total of approximately 35,000 members, who contribute more than US$1 million annually to the Lions Clubs International Foundation and have been faithful members to one of the world's largest philanthropic organizations.
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