SOCIAL MEDIA:The president’s Lunar New Year greetings in English and Japanese angered some Chinese netizens, who said that she should have stuck to using Mandarin
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 29, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter
Lunar New Year messages from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Twitter yesterday
President Tsai Ing-wen, center, yesterday greets a toddler as the president hands out red envelopes on the first day of the Lunar New Year at the Fu-an Temple in Pingtung County’s Checheng Township. Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
sparked a war of words between Taiwanese and Chinese netizens.
“From the people of Taiwan, we wish everyone a bright and prosperous Year of the Rooster,” Tsai wrote in separate messages in English and Japanese to Internet and social media users.
Her messages drew a torrent of criticism from Chinese netizens, with some leaving vitriolic comments that accused Tsai of pandering to Japan and the US by favoring Japanese and English over Chinese.
Saying that the Japanese do not celebrate the Lunar New Year, a number of the Chinese critics accused Tsai of “selling out to Japan,” while others referenced the oppression perpetrated by the Japanese government during the Japanese colonial era in Taiwan. [FULL STORY]
