A parent-child centre in Taoyuan's Dayuan District planned a "China Month" event for September and placed the five-star red flag directly on its calendar, igniting a political controversy. The venue removed the material overnight and apologised.

• This year the parent-child centre has adopted "Around the World" as its central theme, changing the featured country each month and displaying that country's national flag. September was the turn of a Chinese culture month.
• Netizens noticed the five-star flag appearing on the calendar and sharply criticised Taoyuan for "increasingly feeling like Taichung," questioning whether counties and cities governed by the Blue camp were engaging in united-front tactics.
• Others came to the venue's defence, pointing out that February's Taiwan Month, March's Indonesia Month, and April's Egypt Month all displayed national flags, so there was no need to over-interpret; the point was to promote cultural diversity.
• The crux of the dispute is that cross-strait relations are unique, so any encounter with political symbols such as national flags or national titles is inherently more sensitive than ordinary international cultural exchanges.
• Both the venue and the Taoyuan City Department of Women and Children came forward to apologise, admitting they had failed to notice public sentiment. They have taken down the material and are reviewing how it is presented.

Outlook: The venue and the San Zhi San Life Education Foundation, which operates it, will jointly review the event's theme, and future visual designs will be handled more cautiously. However, the sensitivity of cross-strait symbols at local events will remain a focus going forward.