Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he would work out a solution “that everyone can accept” with the International University Sports Federation on whether spectators at the Taipei Summer Universiade in August can bring the Republic of China (ROC) flag to sports venues to cheer for the national team.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on Thursday reported that a brochure printed by the Taipei Universiade Organizing Committee on maintaining order during the Games has listed “pro-localization or pro-independence group members” who bring ROC flags to the sporting events as a “contingency” that could arise during the Universiade alongside Islamic State militants.
“People who strongly support localization or independence might exploit the public’s ignorance about the Olympic model and look for trouble by brandishing the national flag,” the brochure said.
Photo: Chien Jung-Fong, Taipei Times
Pro-independence group 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign on Thursday staged a protest in front of Taipei City Hall to decry the city’s attachment of the “terrorist” label to pro-independence groups.
Group office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) demanded that Ko apologize for equating Taiwanese independence advocates to Islamic State militants, saying the comparison was an insult and slander against them.
Pro-independence groups have never acted provocatively or caused any trouble, Chen said.
He said that pro-independence groups have thrown eggs during protests before, adding sarcastically that Ko could not even tell eggs from bombs.
The city government should scrap the brochures and ensure the new ones are free of such mistakes, or he would dog Ko wherever he goes, Chen said.
Ko yesterday said the president of the International University Sports Federation is to visit Taiwan soon, and that he would have the committee bring the issue to a meeting with the president.
Although Taipei’s bid to host the universiade was secured during former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) term, Ko was asked to sign a letter of agreement promising that the Universiade would be organized according to the Olympic model.
Despite saying last year that the Olympic model allows spectators to bring the national flag, Ko yesterday said the nation’s sovereignty is a complicated issue.
The committee would broach the topic in a meeting with federation delegates to learn about their views, he added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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