. 24/7 Space News .
SUPERPOWERS
Putin inaugurates museum honouring ex-leader Yeltsin
by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Nov 25, 2015


Beauty contestant barred over 'Taiwan' sash: government
Taipei (AFP) Nov 25, 2015 - A beauty contestant from Taiwan has been suspended from an international pageant after Beijing objected to the sash she was wearing, the woman and the government in Taipei said.

Ting Wen-yin was kept out of the Miss Earth contest in Austria because she refused to compete for "Chinese Taipei" -- the name by which Beijing insists the self-ruled island should be known.

Ting, 22, said pageant organisers had initially given her a "Taiwan ROC" sash -- short for "Republic of China", the territory's preferred name -- but later said there had been a mistake.

When she declined to wear the replacement ribbon, she was told to "just leave" and barred from the stage over the weekend.

"It seems some department from China had reported it, then the organisers told me to replace it with Chinese Taipei at the evening event," Ting wrote on Facebook.

Taiwan and China separated in 1949 after a civil war, and despite more than six decades of self-rule, Beijing insists the island is a renegade province awaiting reunification.

Both governments insist they are the legitimate rulers of greater China.

Taiwan participates in international events as Chinese Taipei, the name of its capital, instead of Republic of China (ROC) to skirt mainland sensitiveness.

Ting said her stance stemmed from not wanting her home to be "humiliated", at a time when Taiwanese are growing wary of expanding Chinese influence.

"On the map, Taiwan is Taiwan. All the nations enter using their country names, while we use the name of a city," said Ting.

Taiwanese foreign ministry spokeswoman Eleanor Wang said in a statement the "Chinese Taipei" sash had been replaced because of pressure from China.

The Miss Earth pageant -- whose finals are on December 5 -- bills itself as an event promoting environmental awareness, and says the winner serves as an ambassador for campaigns.

The furore comes just weeks after a historic summit between Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Singapore, the first meeting between leaders since the 1949 split.

It also comes after Canada's Chinese-born Miss World contestant claimed she was being denied a visa to compete in this year's finals in China because of her criticism of Beijing's human rights record.

Late Russian leader Boris Yeltsin's "nuclear button" briefcase went on display Wednesday as a major new museum devoted to the legacy of Russia's first president opened in the Urals.

Russian President Vladimir Putin -- whom an ailing Yeltsin anointed as his heir on New Year's Eve 1999 with the words "Take care of Russia" -- unveiled the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre in the former leader's home city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural mountains.

Putin called the museum a "tribute to the memory of Russia's first president" and the radical change the country went through in the 1990s.

"I remember the words of Boris Nikolaevich that the whole country now knows: 'Take care of Russia,'" Putin said at the ceremony.

"They were addressed to all of us, the current and future generations. Boris Nikolaevich wanted our country to be strong, prosperous and happy. We have already done a lot to achieve those goals."

Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev laid flowers at a monument to Yeltsin and toured the museum accompanied by his widow Naina and daughter Tatyana Yumasheva.

The Boris Yeltsin centre showcases Yeltsin's pivotal role in ushering in free-market policies after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but public opinion remains broadly negative eight years after his death.

"It's wonderful that we will be launching such a tradition -- a tradition of respect for a president who stepped down and his legacy," his widow Naina Yeltsina told Moskovsky Komsomolets tabloid.

Yeltsin led Russia from 1991 to 1999 before stepping aside and nominating his protege Putin, then a little-known spy boss, to succeed him.

He died in 2007 at the age of 76.

-'The most dramatic moments'-

The museum recreates Yeltsin's Kremlin office with the original furniture and row of rotary dial telephones.

In a glass case sits the famous briefcase, which had a button inside authorizing the use of nuclear weapons -- now with the electronics removed.

Exhibits that aim to immerse visitors in the atmosphere of the 1990s include mockups of an empty grocery store and a living room with the ballet Swan Lake playing on loop on state television, as happened in 1991 when Soviet hardliners staged a failed coup.

After winning public support at the barricades that year, Yeltsin came to power with an ambitious agenda of unpopular reforms.

But his heavy drinking and heart problems tarnished his reputation and his approval ratings fell to single figures.

Among the politicians interviewed for videos shown in the exhibition was Yeltsin's former first deputy prime minister, Boris Nemtsov, the opposition leader who was gunned down in Moscow in February.

"He was a rebel, Yeltsin," said Nemtsov.

"I can't say he was very up on political and economic theory, but he understood in practice all the stupidity of the Soviet planned system."

Yeltsin's daughter Yumasheva, who was one of his most trusted advisors, told TASS state news agency the centre aimed "to tell the truth about the 1990s", from the constitutional and economic crises of the day to the first Chechen War.

The museum's website quotes Yeltsin as saying that thanks to him, "Russia will now never go back to the past."

A Levada poll in December found just 11 percent of Russians rated Yeltsin positively, while 40 percent said they viewed him negatively. The rest took a neutral view or gave not answer.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
SUPERPOWERS
US troops begin training Ukrainian regular forces
Washington (AFP) Nov 23, 2015
US military experts on Monday began training Ukrainian soldiers and special operations forces in the war-torn country, the Pentagon said. US troops had already deployed in small numbers to Ukraine to train National Guard forces, but under a plan first announced in July they are now helping regular military units. The US troops "will be training five battalions of active-duty troops and ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
Gaia's sensors scan a lunar transit

SwRI scientists explain why moon rocks contain fewer volatiles than Earth's

All-female Russian crew starts Moon mission test

Russian moon mission would need 4 Angara-A5V launches

SUPERPOWERS
Study: Mars to become a ringed planet following death of its moon

A witness to a wet early Mars

NASA completes heat shield testing for future Mars exploration vehicles

Curiosity Mars Rover Heads Toward Active Dunes

SUPERPOWERS
Brits Aim for the Stars with Big Bucks on Offer to Conquer Final Frontier

XCOR develops Lynx Simulator

Orion ingenuity improves manufacturing while reducing mass

Orion's European module ready for testing

SUPERPOWERS
China's scientific satellites to enter uncharted territory

China to launch Dark Matter Satellite in mid-December

China to better integrate satellite applications with Internet

China's satellite expo opens

SUPERPOWERS
ISS EarthKAM ready for student imaging request

Partners in Science: Private Companies Conduct Valuable Research on the Space Station

SAGE III Leaves Langley for Journey to ISS

New Crew to Stay Aboard ISS for 7 Months Instead of 6

SUPERPOWERS
NASA calls on SpaceX to send astronauts to ISS

NASA Orders SpaceX Crew Mission to International Space Station

NASA Selects New Technologies for Parabolic Flights and Suborbital Launches

United Launch Alliance exits launch competition, leaving SpaceX

SUPERPOWERS
Forming planet observed for first time

UA researchers capture first photo of planet in making

Rocket Scientists to Launch Planet-Finding Telescope

5400mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside solar system

SUPERPOWERS
Ultrastable materials investigated in depth

Creating a new vision for multifunctional materials

3-D printing aids in understanding food enjoyment

Hardened steels for more efficient engines









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.