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Cartoon phrase sparks discrimination case
‘KINGDOM OF THE CELESTIAL DRAGONS’: National Communications Commission Chairman Howard Shyr said he is not offended by the term that launched the filing
By Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
Referring to Taipei as Tian Long Guo (天龍國, “Kingdom of the Celestial Dragons”) was criticized as discrimination yesterday in a complaint filed with the National Communications Commission.
The term is a reference to the Japanese cartoon One Piece, in which residents of the “Kingdom of Celestial Dragons” receive special privileges and view themselves as superior to outsiders, even to the point of wearing masks whenever they leave the kingdom to avoid being polluted by the outside air.
In an analogy, the phrase is used to poke fun at a perceived sense of superiority among Taipei residents relative to other areas.
The complaint was first registered with the Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism in response to a headline on the Chinese-language Apple Daily’s Web site that used the phrase. The department passed the complaint on to the commission.
Commission administrative affairs division head Shen Yung-hwa (沈永華) said that as long as complaints have a definite subject, the department is obligated to pass them on to authorities.
He added that the department did not view use of the term as discriminatory or prejudiced. Rather, its use merely reflects individual subjective perceptions, he said.
Separately, in response to reporters’ requests for comment, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said that the use of the term should not be taken too seriously, adding that he hoped the commission would take a relaxed view of the case.
In response to questions from legislators, commission Chairman Howard Shyr (石世豪) said that because the incident mentioned in the complaint had occurred online, it fell outside of the responsibility of the commission.
He added that as a Taipei resident himself, he did not feel insulted by use of the term.
Additional reporting by Chiou Shao-wen
source: Taipei Times
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