Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) yesterday defended her comments lauding the victory of Taiwan’s badminton duo at the Paris Olympics as “the pride of Chinese people.”
Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) on Sunday won the first gold medal for Taiwan in the men’s doubles at this year’s Olympics.
Lee and Wang’s gold medal win is the “Pride of Chinese people,” Weng wrote on China’s WeChat social media app.
Photo: Taipei Times file
In response to media queries yesterday, she said: “We are Chinese... No matter who wins, Team Taiwan or the team from mainland China, it is still the pride of all Chinese people. I see nothing wrong in my statement.”
Speaking at a news conference in Taipei, Democratic Progressive Party caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) asked: “Which team was Weng rooting for?” as she watched Lee and Wang face their Chinese opponents at the finals.
“It is very regretful that Weng receives a salary from the [Taiwanese] government, serves as a Taiwanese lawmakers but she does not stand with Taiwan,” Wu added.
Separately yesterday, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and KMT think tank deputy director Ling Tao (凌濤) celebrated the badminton win by distributing fried chicken cutlets and bubble tea at the party’s headquarters in Taipei.
Asked about Weng’s post, Chu said: “Right now our whole society is celebrating... We are all cheering for Lee and Yang, as we are proud of both of them.”
“We were all nervous and excited while watching the match on Sunday, and it ended joyfully and our country is celebrating [the victory] together,” he said.
“It has been a long time since we have experienced such joy. When the Republic of China’s National Flag Anthem was played, we were very moved. It was a feeling that everyone shared as we watched it on TV in support of our beloved Chinese Taipei team,” he said.
Additional reporting with CNA
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
RSS