TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Saturday (Dec. 16) said it deeply regretted that protesters in Taipei brandished a Nazi flag outside an international school.
People were seen carrying a Nazi swastika flag in a protest outside the Taipei European School, said MOFA. It learned about the incident from Omer Caspi, representative of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO), who voiced concern about the use of the controversial flag.
While Taiwan is a democracy that protects freedom of speech, the use of the swastika flag is not accepted, said MOFA. The flag is associated with racism and genocide and has been repudiated since World War II, it stressed.
The foreign ministry urged the public to show respect for all communities. Words and deeds that may harm the image of Taiwan are not tolerable, said MOFA.
Similar events have happened in Taiwan before that have sparked controversy.
In 2019, an American photographer expressed disappointment over the hanging of Nazi swastika flags in a betel nut store in Taipei and the “absolute cluelessness” of Taiwan.
In 2018, protesters from the German Old Mark Association were seen carrying Nazi flags outside Taipei 101. In 2016, the Presidential Office demanded that a high school in Hsinchu apologize over a mock Nazi rally with a parade of swastika flags.
