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A beauty queen is at the centre of Taiwan, China's latest row
China-Taiwan Conflict: "China pressured the Malaysian organisers to ban Miss Kao from holding our national flag on stage," Taiwan's foreign ministry in a statement, AFP reported.
Taiwan accused China on Wednesday of pressuring organisers of a trade event in Malaysia to stop Taiwanese beauty queen Kao Man-jung from waving the island's flag on stag while other contestants were seen waving the flags of their respective countries. Taiwan said that miss Taiwan Kao Man-jung was photographed crying as other contestants in a beauty pageant appeared on stage.
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What is Taiwan's latest charge at China?
"China pressured the Malaysian organisers to ban Miss Kao from holding our national flag on stage," Taiwan's foreign ministry in a statement, AFP reported. China instructed its representative office in Malaysia to stop the beauty queen from waving the flag on stage, the foreign ministry added.
Beijing is deploying "vile actions", Taiwan said.
Why the display of flag is controversial?
As China regards the self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory, Beijing fumes at any recognition of Taiwan as a country at an international level. Display of flag is one such instance.
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Has such a controversy happened before?
Celebrities like US pop stars Madonna and Katy Perry have also shown Taiwan's flag in the past much to Beijing's dismay. In 2016, a teen Taiwanese K-pop singer had to publicly apologise for waving the Taiwan flag during an online broadcast.
