A Facebook page became a political battleground after Taiwanese visitors to the site came across a fan page named, “Taiwan, Special Administration Region of China.”
Included in the page — which allows Facebook users to leave comments — were pictures depicting a fictional Taiwanese flag alongside the territorial flags of Hong Kong and Macau.
Despite its relatively small following — 150 fans at press time yesterday — the page was quick to draw comments from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and online users.
BRAINWASHING
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃), who often uses Facebook, criticized the page’s creators, saying they were attempting to brainwash visitors.
She said that while the purpose of the page remains unclear, it was evident that some online communities have been busy promoting political agendas through a variety of different methods.
DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), another avid user of the Web site, yesterday said the page could have been set up by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in reference to his administration’s policies of rapprochement with China.
As a site with a system for exchanging information, she said it “wasn’t smart” to de-emphasize Taiwan because it would inevitably backfire.
Visitors to the page were also quick to comment, some sarcastically and others more seriously. Posting in Traditional Chinese, many users said the page offered them a seldom seen opportunity to, “blast China and support Taiwan.”
Commenting on a wall post by the page’s creators asking if “one China is the People’s Republic of China or the Republic of China,” a user using the alias Chong-chong Chen (衝衝陳) said: “Taiwan is Taiwan ... China is China ... Where does Taiwan, Special Administrative Region even come from?”
‘CRAZY’
“You guys are really crazy,” the user said.
Another user called She Ming-kuang (佘明光) said: “Of course China is the People’s Republic of China, this is a point that Taiwan won’t fight with you guys about.”
Asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) yesterday said that such an act was generally seen as “treason” in the past.
Lu, who does not use Facebook, said government agencies should determine the intentions of the user because “this is a matter [affecting] the dignity of our nation.”
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
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