An independence advocate was found guilty on Feb. 7 of inciting others to burn the national flag, in a ruling that overturned a previous acquittal. The issue of an individual’s right to “insult” national symbols has drawn attention in the sports world. Since August 2016, some NFL players have knelt during the US national anthem out of protest against police violence toward African-Americans. There is no definitive answer as to whether people should be allowed to desecrate national symbols, but not everyone adheres to the same imagined communities or same values espoused by those communities. If citizens are prohibited from protesting a nation through destroying its symbols, it risks opening the floodgates for further suppression of free expression.

Source: Taipei Times February 15, 2020 15:56 UTC