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ROC flag removal bid
an alert: OCAC
TAKE ACTION: An Overseas Community Affairs
Council official said a California group¡¦s bid to take down the flag at its
office should spur Taipei to engage such groups
Staff writer, with CNA
Staff writer, with CNA
A failed bid by members of an overseas Chinese association in the US to remove a
Republic of China (ROC) flag from their office serves a ¡§warning¡¨ for the
Taiwanese government that it is losing the support of such organizations,
Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) Deputy Minister Jen Hung (¥ô¥°) said on
Sunday.
According to a report by the Chinese-language United Evening News, the Chinese
Consolidated Benevolent Association in San Francisco, California, nearly
approved a motion to remove an ROC flag from its office during a board meeting
on Saturday.
The association was founded in 1854 and, like many similar groups in the US,
offered assistance to Sun Yat-sen (®]¶h¥P) when he staged a revolution to overthrow
China¡¦s Qing Dynasty and has been a longtime supporter of the ROC government
since then.
However, many of these overseas Chinese groups have been gradually distancing
themselves from Taiwan and its promotion of localization since Washington
switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1978, diplomatic
sources said.
Jen said the motion to get rid of the ROC flag at the association¡¦s office
failed in a 21-20 vote because the group¡¦s charter stipulates that important
resolutions must be approved by three-quarters of the board.
However, Jen said the incident should serve as a warning to the government to
make more efforts to win the support of overseas Chinese groups.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Anna Kao (°ª¦w) said that the
association¡¦s extempore motion was to replace the ROC flag with those of the US
and the state of California, rather than the People¡¦s Republic of China¡¦s flag,
as was reported by the United Evening News.
She said that the ministry respects the autonomy of overseas community groups,
but also urges these associations to continue supporting the Taiwanese
government because it embraces freedom, human rights, democracy and the rule of
law as its core values.
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