Inside Vancouver city hall’s Chinese flag flap

Officials at Vancouver city hall, Canada, wondered whether raising the Chinese flag to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the communist revolution would cause controversy if Taiwanese asked for equal treatment.

Documents obtained by Business in Vancouver under freedom of information laws also show that staff in the offices of the mayor and city manager were intimately involved, contrary to what the communications department indicated after the unpublicised Sept. 30 event for 300 Chinese government supporters.

In a September 1 email, protocol officer Paul Hendren mentioned that Emma Lee, Mayor Gregor Robertson’s community liaison, had been contacted by the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations to hold the event. The 2008-founded coalition is comprised of immigrants from mainland China and has held events praising Chairman Mao Zedong, who led the revolution and died in 1976. Mao has been blamed for more than 30 million deaths from famine and human rights abuses during his reign. 

Hendren wrote that standard approval would be required from the city manager’s office, but he also expressed concern. “Would agreeing to this event cause any political sensitivity?” Hendren asked assistant city manager Wendy Au.

“The People’s Republic of China is the officially recognised country in Canada and we have no reason to say no,” Au responded. “However, in the future if Taiwan asked to do the same thing and if we say Yes I am sure Chinese Consulate will object to that… If we have to say no then we will need to make sure that with our policy that Taiwan is not an officially recognised country and that their flag is not being flown in Ottawa! This can be tricky since our Mayor and councillors have relationships with both!”

October 1 is national day in China. Taiwan, which holds democratic elections but is considered a rebel province by China, celebrates its national day annually on October 10.