Taiwan Flag Flap

Hsiuping Institute of Technology in Taichung County, Taiwan is the center of a flag related controversy. Some students there have accused the school of removing the flag of the Republic of China and a portrait of Sun Yat-sen, "as a gesture to please" an academic exchange group from Shandong University of Technology in Red China who were attending the school's graduation ceremony on June 12.

The school, however, denies any such motivation. "We did not take down the national flag and portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen to welcome the representatives from China. We took them down to better display the background setting that had been designed specially for the graduation ceremony," school president Lin Bao-zong said.

According to Lin, the graduation ceremony was opened with the singing of the national anthem, followed by bowing to the national flag and a portrait of Sun. The school then removed the flag and portrait in order to change the background setting.

Illlustration of the flag of the Republic of China on Taiwan provided courtesy of Flags Of The World.