Members of the Free Taiwan Party (FTP) yesterday pressed charges against Pingtung officials with the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office, after police demanded that they not display a Taiwanese independence flag and political banners at an international Little League baseball game on Sunday.
Saying it was a matter of the right to free speech and freedom of expression, the group filed charges against Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安), Pingtung County Police Chief Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧) and the head of the county’s baseball governing body, Chiu Ming-chang (邱名璋).
Free Taiwan Party spokesman Chen Chien-pin (陳建斌) said that police officers at the game demanded that they remove the banners, then harassed them and asked them not to shout slogans.
Party members later moved to Taiwan’s dugout area along first base, but then police removed them from the ballpark, Chen said.
“We are filing charges against the county commissioner, the police chief and the head of the county baseball body for dereliction of duty, because they violated our personal freedom by using police to harass us and eject us from the ballpark,” Chen said.
The title game between Taiwan and second-placed China took place as part of a week-long tournament hosted by Pingtung County to determine the Asia-Pacific regional title in the World Little League junior division for students aged 13 and 14.
Chinese coaches and players walked off the diamond in protest when Free Taiwan Party members unfurled a Taiwanese independence flag and put up banners that read: “Taiwan is not Chinese Taipei,” and “Taiwan is Taiwan” at the bleacher section over the Chinese team’s dugout along third base.
There were squabbles as some spectators disagreed with the demonstration inside the ballpark and local police tried to remove the banners, while the game stopped for about 50 minutes.
When the game resumed, the Taiwanese youth squad defeated the Chinese visitors 10-0. The game was called in the fifth inning on the 10-run mercy rule.
Chen said the Free Taiwan Party and its supporters organized activities at international games to inform the public that the designation of “Chinese Taipei” in sports does not represent Taiwanese and downgrades the nation’s status in the international arena, adding that it is time to end its use.
“It was also our right to freedom of expression, which is protected by our nation’s Constitution. However, police forced us to leave the ballpark, so we want to press charges against their unlawful action,” Chen said.
However, police and baseball officials said that protests should not take place during games, reiterating the principle that “politics should not interfere with sports events.”
They added that Taiwanese teams might face fines and other punishment by international governing bodies due to such actions.
Chen said the use of the term “Chinese Taipei” is a political act, as it misleads foreigners into thinking that Taiwanese are the same as Chinese, adding that it was used as a tool to suppress Taiwanese identity by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governments, and asked the fans for their support and understanding.
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