Taiwanese beauty queen not allowed to go on stage with flag, Taipei accuses China of ‘vile’ actions
Taiwan Kao Man-jung was photographed crying as other contestants appeared on stage
A trade event in Malaysiabecame another flashpoint for Taiwan and China after a Taiwanese beauty queen was not allowed to wave the island's flag on stage.
The incident took place on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the 2022 World Congress on Innovation and Technology (WCIT).
A photo of Miss Taiwan Kao Man-jung crying with other contestants in a beauty pageant on stage waving their flags went viral, triggering strong reactions from Taipei.
According to local media, Kao was stopped from going onto the stage when other contestants were called in. A video was also shared on Facebook.
Taiwanese authorities claimed that China coerced Malaysian organisers to prevent Kao from displaying the Taiwan flag.
"China pressured the Malaysian organisers to ban Miss Kao from holding our national flag on stage," Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said, according to AFP.
Taiwan said it had instructed its representative office in Malaysia to lodge a formal complaint with the organisers.
The ministry said that such suppression "would only disgust Taiwanese people and the international community even more" and blamed Beijing of deploying "vile actions".
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and actively takes measures in making sure that other countries don’t recognise Taipei as an independent country.
Beijing hopes to integrate Taiwan with its mainland, even by force.
It has in the past expressed angry reactions over the display of the Taiwanese flag at international events or by foreign celebrities.
US pop stars like Madonna and Katy Perry have faced China’s ire for displaying Taiwan's flag in the past. In 2016, a teen Taiwanese K-pop singer was made to publicly apologise for waving the Taiwan flag during an online broadcast.
(With inputs from agencies)
WATCH WION LIVE HERE