ALL OR NOTHING: The change came three days after the ROC flag was removed, but it is unclear whether the change was meant to improve damaged Taiwan-US ties
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 28, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
The US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has removed the flags of all
A screengrab of the Web site of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs yesterday shows the page introducing China after all national and regional flags were removed from the site.
countries from its Web site amid rising suspicion over the solidity of Taiwan-US ties following the disappearance of the Republic of China (ROC) flag from several US government Web sites.
The change was first reported yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times), which said the introductory pages for all the nations listed under the site’s “Country Information” page no longer contain their respective national flags, including the page for China.
The change came only three days after it was discovered that the bureau’s site and that of the Office of the US Trade Representative removed the ROC flag without an explanation, prompting concern over a potential policy shift by US President Donald Trump’s administration. [FULL STORY]