Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Continuing to be Breaking News: the Flag

CNA reports that Olympic venue personnel warned Taiwanese students that they will be kicked out if they wave the ROC flag.
奧運跆拳道擂臺旁,中華民國國旗陣陣飄揚。倫敦時間今天上午比賽結束後,現場工作人員已向台灣的留學生下通牒:「如果再把國旗拿出來,很抱歉,我必須把你們趕出去。(If you take that flag out again, I'm sorry, but I will have to kick you out).
Silence on this issue isn't helping Ma, who as maddog pointed out on Facebook, once took out an ad to thank everyone who ever waved the flag. Meanwhile we watch as the flag is appropriated by locals, especially the young, and taken to symbolize Taiwan, not the ROC.
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9 comments:

Tim Maddog said...

For those who might not be able to view it on Facebook, here's a link to the image.

And here's the text I added to the Facebook post:
- - -
Remember when Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) thanked "*everyone* who *ever* waved the national flag"? When it comes to the Olympics, he sure has a different way of seeing things.

For example, he ignored the removal of the flag from Regent Street:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2012/08/02/2003539219

… and his Tourism Bureau and Sports Affairs Council even discouraged people from bringing flags to the Olympics:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2012/08/03/2003539309

What a joke!

- - -

Tim Maddog

Klaus said...

I suggest waving the former flag of Myanmar and waiting to see what happens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Myanmar_%281974-2010%29.svg

Chuck West said...

At first I was bit pissed off too but then I read the article and discovered that the Olympic officials were merely following the protocol set forth under guidelines from an agreement that Taiwan entered into in 1972. Apparently, there were similar incidents in 1996 at the Olympics in Atlanta.

Dixteel said...

The lack of respect of human liberty surprises me. Time to burn the British and Olympic flag.

Paul said...

Some of my friends at the Taekwando event were warned too. She draped the flag over her shoulder and was warned. Funny thing is that the crowd around her thought it was weird and started supported her.

John Scott said...

Wish someone in London could pass out hundreds of Taiwan flags to people with tickets to the events.

Then see if the officials really want to throw EVERYBODY out, thereby causing a spectacle that takes media attention away from the games and into the seating areas.

Anonymous said...

>>The lack of respect of human liberty surprises me. Time to burn the British and Olympic flag.


I was told that a Taiwanese lady (living in London) brought her daughter to the Taekwando game, waving both the ROC and the British flags.

A London Olympic worker took the ROC flag from her daughter. She immediately took it back while shouting to the worker: "What right do you have to rob my daughter of her property?" Then, she took the British flag from her daughter's hand with the British flag she herself was holding and threw them to the floor and tramped on them. The worker didn't say anything and walked away.

Tim Maddog said...

Taiwan's Representative to the UK Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) gave yet another version—contradicting earlier statements by Ma Ying-jeou government officials—of the rules regarding flags at the Olympics.

He says that the 1981 agreement with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) "makes no mention of audience seats," and "spectators are not subject to any rule under the agreement."

That other stuff about a "concession" on flags (that other Ma government officials seem to be trying to spin as an "achievement") sure smells a bit different after knowing that, huh?

Tim Maddog

Anonymous said...

Ma #Fail, that's all.