離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Chinese desserts mar ROC event
Snacks from China that were given out as “specialties from Taiwan” are pictured at an ROC National Day celebration in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Wang Chun-wen
By Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporter
A Taiwanese man living in Japan accused the Association of Republic of China Nationals in Tokyo （中華民國留日東京華僑總會） and the Tokyo Taiwanese Students Association of downgrading Taiwan’s sovereignty by handing out Chinese desserts — instead of Taiwanese specialties — to guests at a Double Ten National Day celebration in Tokyo on Sunday.
A large number of Taiwanese nationals in Japan took part in the Republic of China （ROC） National Day celebration at the Tokyo Chinese School and were expecting to receive specialties from Taiwan as souvenirs. However, many were surprised to find that there were also delicacies from China in the gift set.
“I was upset, and so were the people who went with me to the event, when we returned home and saw what was in the box,” Wang Chun-wen （王俊文）, who works in Japan, told the Taipei Times via the Internet. “Is it that hard to give out specialties from Taiwan when we attend celebrations for Taiwan’s National Day?”
Wang said there were three items in the gift set, one of which was from Taiwan, but the other two were desserts from China — a box of mung bean cakes and a box of sweet osmanthus cakes. Both were labeled as a “specialty of Guilin” and all the labeling on the boxes was in simplified Chinese.
“I would not normally have a problem accepting desserts from China as gifts, but it is upsetting when they are part of a gift for people attending a celebration of Taiwan’s National Day,” Wang said.
He added that it was especially upsetting when it is clearly written on posters advertising the event that “the first 800 people who arrive at the event will receive specialties from Taiwan as gifts.”
Commenting on the issue, Wang Tung-sheng （王東生）, director of the Overseas Compatriots Affairs Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, said the event was organized by two non-governmental groups and the representative office was not involved.
“What I know is that the organizers have prepared a gift set for each guest and originally they prepared some Taiwanese desserts,” Wang said. “In the morning, a retailer attending the event brought these desserts from China and the president of the Association of Republic of China Nationals in Tokyo then decided to add them to the gift set, without giving it a second thought.”
As of press time, Association of Republic of China Nationals in Tokyo president Lee Wei-hsiang （李維祥） was unavailable for comment.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
