When the U.N. Permanent Court on Arbitration (PCA) issued its ruling on the South China Sea disputed islands, Taiwan immediately closed ranks with China in insisting that the islands do not belong to the Philippines but to China.
However, days after, Taiwanese residents are again making light of their relationship with China by joining a Facebook competition called "First Annual Apologise to China Contest." Entries show people saying sorry to China using signboards for wrongs they did to the mainland people and government, reported BBC.
Examples of apologies are from a mother for having three children, while Beijing recently put in place a two-child policy. The use of New Balance shoes was also given as an example since a Chinese court declared that it was the global brand which infringed the copyright of the Chinese Brand “New Barlun.”
The Taiwanese folks were actually just following the example of celebrities who previously were considered to have offended China. They include Chou Tzu-yu, a Taiwanese pop singer who said sorry for waving the Taiwanese flag during an online broadcast, and Hong Kong actor Wong He who suggested that former Chinese leader Zhou Enlai could be gay and posting the Dalai Lama’s photo on his Faceook page.
It was an interview with the Dalai Lama that “Born This Way” singer Lady Gaga incurred the ire of Chinese leaders for which she has not apologized.
Hong Kong Free Press reported that the online competition spawned a similar contest in Weibo, China’s microblogging site, but it is titled First Annual Apologize to Taiwan Province Contest" which is a satire on Taiwan’s claim of independence from China, while Beijing considers it only its province.
One sample of an entry is Weibo is “I’m sorry, your Taiwanese independence dream is destined to only be a dream, while our Chinese dream is getting fulfilled step by step.”