By banning Taiwan’s flag, Cambodia adds to Taipei’s woes with Beijing
Cross-strait ties are expected to take another hit after Cambodia banned the raising of the Taiwanese national flag in the Southeast Asian nation.
The move, announced by Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen over the weekend, is seen by some in Taiwan as the latest attempt by Beijing to pressure the island’s President Tsai Ing-wen into bowing to Beijing.
In a dinner at the Cambodian-Chinese Association on Saturday, Hun Sen said the Taiwanese flag could not be flown due to the country’s long-standing support for Beijing’s one-China principle.
“We should not do anything that affects the respect for China’s sovereignty,” he said in a Facebook posting. Given that Taiwan was “another province of China” he had asked the public not to “raise the Taiwanese flag whenever you are gathering, even at hotels during Taiwanese national holidays”.
When asked about the move, Taiwanese foreign ministry spokeswoman Eleanor Wang said: “As a sovereign, independent country, Taiwan is devoted to safeguarding peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.”
