"......蔡英文反批，人民都希望到哪裡都能拿得出國旗，但政府在中國壓力下，限制大家拿國旗，讓人覺得不可思議；她呼籲馬政府不要畏懼中國壓力，讓我們的國旗拿得出去。

蔡英文表示，蔡煌瑯質詢的原意是「如果馬政府覺得兩岸關係這麼好，就應該讓我們的國旗在更多的地方可以看得到」，只要正確解讀蔡煌瑯說的話，就不必擔心對選情造成影響。

對總統府邀請她明年元旦帶國旗參加升旗，蔡英文表示，「那要看朝野關係好不好？如果總統府一直用國旗議題來操弄內部的關係與和諧，那我就要好好考慮要不要參加。」

民進黨台北市長候選人蘇貞昌表示，台北縣長任內，要求任何公眾場合都嚴禁撤下國旗。蘇貞昌質疑，扯掉人民手上拿的國旗，或不准人民在公開場合拿國旗，都是 當今執政者的命令，「人民在自己土地上拿著國旗，天經地義。」他認為，換國旗雖是立委蔡煌瑯個人意見，但國民黨的作法「令人錯亂」。"

Taiwanese cheering for Liu, angry at Ma

BY TAKIO MURAKAMI THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2010/10/16

Representatives of citizens groups in Taipei calling for the release of Liu Xiaobo on Oct. 10 (Photo by Takio Murakami)

TAIPEI--Taiwan's traditional ambivalence over its relations with mainland China has taken a knock as it struggles to formulate a response to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to imprisoned pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo.

Initially the office of President Ma Ying-jeou, who has pushed for closer economic ties with Beijing, issued a curt and much toned down congratulatory message following the Oct. 8 announcement that Liu had won.

The message, which made no call for Liu's release, was carefully worded so as not to inflame China-Taiwan relations. It was likely the result of political meddling by the upper echelons in Ma's government.

But that initial response triggered a groundswell of criticism in the media and among the populace, which traditionally remain relatively nonchalant toward Chinese politics and the pro-democracy movement.

Op-Ed pieces in newspapers questioned Ma's silence on seeking Liu's release, while TV has devoted daily coverage to the circumstances surrounding Liu and his wife Liu Xia.

Under Ma's leadership, Taiwan-China relations, particularly economic ties, have become much more intertwined. Currently, more than 70,000 Taiwanese companies are investing in China. This prompted the Ma administration to sign in June an economic cooperation treaty that opened up markets to enhance the flow of goods and services across the Taiwan Strait.

"In Taiwan, the only people who don't want to talk about Liu Xiaobo are President Ma and the businessmen," said Jiang Chun-nan, an outspoken political commentator.

Taiwan has long served as a bastion for Chinese democracy fighters. Wang Chaohua, 58, who works at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica in Taipei, is one of 14 activists who fled China after they were put on a wanted list following the 1989 crackdown in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Other dissident activists include Wang Dan, 41, who has taken up teaching in Taiwan, and Wuer Kaixi, 42, an ethnic Uighur activist who has registered himself as Taiwanese.

But according to Wang Chaohua, "interest toward the democratic movement is relatively weak when compared with that in Hong Kong."

Wang attributed that to "the introverted nature of Taiwanese."

As democracy took root in Taiwan, its people became more concerned about domestic politics and less interested in what was happening across the strait.

The media has not helped, either. According to a report on press freedoms released this year, the U.S.-based independent watchdog organization Freedom House found some sections of the media are "softening (their) previous criticism of the Ma administration, Beijing and improvements in cross-strait ties."

Freedom House expressed "concerns over the potential direct or indirect influence of the Chinese government on free expression in Taiwan."

However, this time around, the media reaction has been swift and relentless.

On Oct. 9, a day after issuing the muted message, Ma was forced to publicly seek Liu's release.

Following news of Liu's winning the Nobel, at least one publisher decided to print extra editions of Liu's writings.

Meantime, social movement groups have issued a joint statement demanding Liu's release, with a total 52 groups endorsing the motion.

Some have pointed out that the recent fuss reflects growing discontent and political turmoil in the island as its economy slows and that of its giant neighbor grows exponentially. Taiwan is seeing a growing discrepancy in the distribution of wealth.

"Perhaps we need to learn from Norway's soft power as exemplified by the Nobel Peace Prize," said Xu Yongming, who teaches at Soochow University in Taiwan.