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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Ministry criticizes PRC for pressuring table tennis body
The India and Republic of China national flags are displayed on an image from the WTT Contender mixed doubles final in Doha on Thursday last week. Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times, courtesy of a member of the public
By Lu Yi-hsuan and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday criticized Beijing after the International Table Tennis Federation （ITTF） apologized for showing the Republic of China （ROC） flag in a promotional image for last week’s World Table Tennis （WTT） Contender tournament in Doha.
The ITTF had shown the flags of the ROC and India in an Instagram Moment post of the WTT Contender mixed doubles final between Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju （林昀儒） and Cheng I-ching （鄭怡靜） and India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batraon on Thursday last week that it later called an inadvertent error by technical staff.
Lin and Cheng won the title after defeating the Indian duo 11-4, 11-5, 11-3.
Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou （歐江安） said at a news conference that Taiwan was proud of the players’ achievement at the tournament, but regrets and condemns political interference by the Chinese Table Tennis Association.
The ITTF must afford Taiwan the courtesy and rights granted to the latter according to the Olympic Charter, she said, adding that conceding to Chinese pressure would only embolden its political meddling in sports.
The ministry reiterates that the ROC, or Taiwan, is a sovereign nation, that it has never been ruled by the People’s Republic of China and that the parties across the Taiwan Strait are mutually non-subordinate, she said.
Beijing’s suppression of Taiwan’s international space is counterproductive, as it only serves to anger Taiwanese and damage China’s image on the world stage, she added.
Lin and Cheng are currently competing in a second ITTF tournament in the Qatari capital, the WTT Star Contender.
The Taiwanese duo were due to face Austrian pairing Daniel Habesohn and Sofia Polcanova in the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles later yesterday.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
