HSINCHU (TVBS News) — Students at Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University (NTHU, 清華大學) raised the flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) on Wednesday (Dec. 4) to welcome visiting Chinese students, emphasizing that equality and democracy are prerequisites for meaningful exchanges.
The protest coincided with a visit organized by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation (馬英九基金會), which aims to foster positive cross-strait interactions. However, the foundation's initiative faced skepticism, particularly following a Fudan University student's reference to Taiwan as "China, Taipei," which sparked public concern.
Some NTHU students expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency in the university's exchange activities, which they perceived as politically charged. They gathered at 9 a.m., displaying signs and chanting, "Exchanges must be equal, and democracy is the premise."(交流要平等，民主是前提)
Participants also held red banners with messages like "Give justice to Tiananmen Square incident" (平反六四) to emphasize their demands. Wang, a sociology student, stated that students spontaneously gathered to defend NTHU's commitment to democratic ideals, asserting that exchanges should be based on equality and openness.
