Taiwanese soccer fans were up in arms on Sunday after confrontations broke out when officials tried to stop spectators from expressing support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement at an East Asian Cup qualifier in Taipei.
At the men’s qualifying match between Taiwan and Hong Kong, several hundred local fans heeded calls from groups to bring yellow umbrellas to the game, as they are a symbol of Hong Kong’s democracy movement.
Fans in one row in the stands held up 14 yellow umbrellas displaying lyrics from Hong Kong band Beyond’s hit song Glorious Years from the 1990s: “Hold on tight to freedom in the wind and rain. We have the confidence to change the future” (風雨中抱緊自由、自信可改變未來).
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Football Association
Then, as the Chinese national anthem was being played, local spectators joined visiting fans in singing a rendition of Beyond’s other 1990s hit, Boundless Oceans Vast Skies, the unofficial theme song of Hong Kong’s “Umbrella movement.”
One Hong Kong reporter said it was a surprise to see such strong support from Taiwan’s sports community, adding that he was grateful that the fans staged such a display at an international soccer event.
Many Hong Kongers took to Facebook and other social media sites to thank Taiwanese for showing their solidarity, with one writing: “Hong Kong and Taiwan, we stand together and will fight together.”
A number of Taiwanese spectators also brought Republic of China flags to the game. However, officials from the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) confronted the flag-waving fans, saying that waving flags was dangerous and telling the supporters to put them down. The officials added that sports should not be mixed with politics.
A CTFA referee section official identified as Shih Po-hai (史勃海) was seen going into the stands and demanding that spectators remove any protest slogans and national flags, while telling fans: “You cannot perform these activities here” and “Your actions will set our national team’s ranking back further.”
Some fans said their rights to freedom of expression and to stage displays of patriotism were infringed upon, and a large section of the stands began chanting: “Taiwan is a democratic country” at the official.
Many Taiwanese netizens accused CTFA officials of bowing to pressure from China and demanded they protect fans’ rights to display flags and slogans at sports events.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to