Drills involving 304 Chinese military aircraft and 162 ships had been detected around Taiwan during the Paris Olympics, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, condemning China for undermining regional peace.
From July 26 to Aug. 11, a total of 304 warplanes and drones flew near Taiwan, averaging 12.3 flights per day, while 209 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, with some flying as close as 37 nautical miles (68.5km) from Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, MAC data showed.
A total of 162 Chinese ships had been detected around Taiwan in the same period, averaging 9.5 per day, and some of them carried helicopters, the MAC said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The modern Olympic Games were founded by Pierre de Coubertin to promote international solidarity, peace and friendship, and the Olympic spirit requires “mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play,” it said, citing the Olympic Charter.
However, China undermined regional peace and stability by sending military aircraft and ships to harass Taiwan irrespective of the Olympic spirit and its own ailing economy, the MAC said.
Beijing organized Chinese to “monitor” Taiwanese spectators and snatch signs with the word “Taiwan” on them at the Olympic badminton venue, an official who is familiar with cross-strait issues and chose to remain anonymous said yesterday.
Such actions violate freedom of expression, the official said.
Beijing said it “hopes to deliver Chinese’s vision of world peace” when it sent torchbearers to the Olympic torch relay, but soon after that it deployed military aircraft and ships near Taiwan and to the South China Sea during the Summer Olympics, they said.
Meanwhile, a Chinese influencer recorded a video to criticize the Paris branch of the Evergreen Laurel Hotel — a hospitality subsidiary of Taiwan’s Evergreen Group — for not including the Chinese flag on its Olympic decor.
The influencer called on Chinese Internet users to boycott the hotel after it allegedly refused to display the Chinese flag.
Some Chinese hotel booking platforms, such as Trip.com and Meituan, removed the hotel.
The management of Evergreen Laurel Hotel last week apologized.
The MAC said that it deplores nationalistic interventions targeting commercial activities, and that the influencer exploited nationalism to raise their profile online, but only made China look aggressive.
Additional reporting by CNA
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