- Apr 14, 2001
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Royal Navy Greets Chinese - with Taiwan Flag
Updated: Thu, Oct 04 8:08 AM EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Royal Navy mistakenly flew a Taiwanese flag during an official visit by members of the Chinese navy, the Ministry of Defense has admitted.
The incident happened on Monday on board the HMS Ark Royal, which played host to a delegation headed by a Chinese admiral on a goodwill visit to Portsmouth, in southern England.
"The Ark Royal was preparing to welcome the party and for a short period of time the Taiwan flag was flown," an MoD spokeswoman said.
"The mistake was pointed out to the navy by a Chinese officer and the flag was taken down."
She said the commander of the Ark Royal had written a personal letter of apology to the Chinese admiral, who had accepted it as an error.
Beijing has a long-standing "one China" policy and regards the island of Taiwan as a renegade province that must one day be reunited with the mainland. Taiwan rejects the policy.
Updated: Thu, Oct 04 8:08 AM EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Royal Navy mistakenly flew a Taiwanese flag during an official visit by members of the Chinese navy, the Ministry of Defense has admitted.
The incident happened on Monday on board the HMS Ark Royal, which played host to a delegation headed by a Chinese admiral on a goodwill visit to Portsmouth, in southern England.
"The Ark Royal was preparing to welcome the party and for a short period of time the Taiwan flag was flown," an MoD spokeswoman said.
"The mistake was pointed out to the navy by a Chinese officer and the flag was taken down."
She said the commander of the Ark Royal had written a personal letter of apology to the Chinese admiral, who had accepted it as an error.
Beijing has a long-standing "one China" policy and regards the island of Taiwan as a renegade province that must one day be reunited with the mainland. Taiwan rejects the policy.
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