Organizers of Taiwan marathon apologize over trophies shaped like a Chinese machine gun
Organizers of a military-linked marathon in southern Taiwan have apologized after handing out trophies in the shape of a Chinese machine gun.
HONG KONG — Organizers of a military-linked marathon in southern Taiwan have apologized after handing out trophies in the shape of a Chinese machine gun, which drew backlash as the Beijing-claimed island comes under growing pressure from China.
The prizes from the Fengshan Marathon near the major city of Kaohsiung were strongly criticized over the weekend because of their close resemblance to the QBZ-95, a Chinese-developed assault rifle used by the People’s Liberation Army of China.
China sees the self-governing democracy of Taiwan as a breakaway province and has not ruled out using force to achieve its unification goal. The ruling Chinese Communist Party, which came to power in 1949, has never controlled Taiwan, which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
The trophies were gun-themed because the route ran through multiple military facilities affiliated with Taiwan’s National Defense Ministry.
Hsu Chih-chieh, a legislator from Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Party whose office co-hosted the race, said it was an “oversight” of the organizers to model the trophies after a nondomestic military firearm.
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