Five girls who posed for a picture in an alley with Taipei 101 in the background might not have expected it would lead to a national news story.
The Chinese students, who study in Macau and visited Taipei to go to a concert, took a photo holding the flag of the People’s Republic of China in May, then posted them on social media. The Taiwanese government subsequently warned them their future visa applications will be “carefully reviewed.”
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) told reporters that Taiwanese society would be uncomfortable with the act, and that the students had provoked the law.
Why would a national government care so much about what photos tourists are taking when they visit Taiwan?
Is Taiwan so fragile that it can’t handle the Chinese flag?
Taiwanese national identity is deeply, famously, contested. A majority consider themselves to be Taiwanese only, while a very large minority identity as both Taiwanese and Chinese. Use of Taiwan’s national flag, the flag of the Republic of China, is broadly accepted by both sides, even if some who identify as Taiwanese have historical misgivings.
In contrast, virtually no one in Taiwan associates themselves with the Chinese flag.
It’s common for foreigners in Taiwan to display their national flags on occasion. As a Brit, I have been known to wave the Union Jack. Why then would a Chinese visitor not fly the Five Star Red Flag?
We all know why — because China is an irredentist power that seeks to annex Taiwan. But this is a simple answer that mislays one very key piece of information.
It isn’t illegal to display the Chinese flag in Taiwan!
It is seldom seen flying alone. But it is relatively commonly seen alongside the flags of many other countries, in all sorts of contexts where multinational participation is relevant or expected. It is entirely normal to see it in supermarkets or at an international fair at a university.
If the Taiwanese government starts to crackdown on Chinese citizens who display their flag when they visit Taiwan, what message does this send to the rest of the world?
It would say that Taiwanese are easily offended — something that simply isn’t true.
It would say that Taiwan is as restrictive and illiberal as China, where Taiwan’s White Sun Flag cannot be flown.
It would say that the current government acknowledges there is something “different” about China in its relationship to Taiwan.
In other words, it would be a renunciation of the confidence that Taiwan faces the world with.
An abdication of the confidence that Taiwan looks out across the strait with.
We should be very clear. If Chinese citizens come to Taiwan and attempt to interfere in Taiwanese democracy or to restrict free speech here, they should be penalized or deported. This would extend to displaying the Chinese flag under some circumstances, such as in or outside government buildings. The threat that China poses to Taiwan is real and serious. Taiwan’s government must have the tools to ensure national security.
But students taking photos in an Instagramable alley are not a national security threat, even though there is every likelihood that they were being deliberately controversial and knew their friends would love to see them flying the Chinese flag in Taiwan.
This is not a matter for a government with serious concerns at home and abroad. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has said he would welcome back Chinese tourists, who currently face restrictions from both Beijing and Taipei in visiting. If and when they return, policing low-level red nationalism would be a serious barrier to a successful tourism policy.
Taiwan should project confidence in its ability to identify and persecute the national security threats that it faces.
It should also be confident enough to ignore a few “provocations” from Chinese tourists who might actually learn something about political tolerance instead.
It would be a bit of a red flag if Taiwan can’t get over this.
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