CHINA TO BLAME: Foreign minister Joseph Wu said that Taiwan would continue to provide help to other countries in times of need despite China’s efforts at repression

Taipei Times
Date: 3, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA and AP

A decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to remove the Republic of China (ROC) flag from a thank-you tweet to countries that offered support in the wake of Friday’s massive earthquake was due to pressure from China, which was regrettable, top officials said yesterday.

While Erdogan did not name the countries and organizations that reached out to Turkey after the magnitude 7 quake on Saturday, he posted pictures of their flags, but the tweet was later taken down and replaced with a new one that did not include the ROC flag.

Turkey maintains diplomatic ties with China.

“According to information obtained by our representative office in Turkey, it was due to China’s meddling and pressure,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told reporters in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei attending a legislative hearing.    [FULL  STORY]