The international tensions between Taiwan and China have come to the Iowa State campus in the shape of an advertisement in the Iowa State Daily.

The Taiwanese Student Association placed four advertisements in the Daily, on March 19, 20, 21 and 22, about the elections held March 23. The ad read:

“Keep Taiwan Safe and Free. Communist China’s Military Exercise Threaten the 21 Million people in Taiwan. The Republic of China invites you to witness the First Democratic Presidential Election in our Country’s History, March 23, 1996. Help us all learn democracy.”

This series of advertisements prompted a large response from the Chinese Student and Scholar Friendship Association. Troy McCullough, Daily editor in chief, said he received more than 30 e-mail messages from members of the Chinese Student and Scholar Friendship Association who were unhappy the Daily had run the advertisement. Xiaoyue Li, the adviser for the Chinese student group and a business college graduate student, said that after the advertisement ran, the group’s office received many phone calls from Chinese students who were upset by the ad. Li said the Chinese students on campus were “very uncomfortable because the Daily was creating political tensions on the campus.”

“We are students, we should be allowed to be quiet and just study in peace,” Li said.

He said the “Chinese people are very upset and angry with the Daily. We don’t want to argue political battles. The Daily should be not biased.”

Both Feng and Li said they did not make any complaints to the Taiwanese Student Association for the advertisement.

Tingmay Liao, treasurer of the Taiwanese Student Association, said they never heard any complaints about the advertisement “to our face.”

Liao said the group members met to discuss the political situation in their country. They decided they needed to express their concern.

“We have been very cautious about words we put on display. We discussed it with 40 to 50 members,” Liao said.

The Taiwanese Student Association also funded the advertisements, which cost a total of $604 and were done completely with donations from members.

“We never used not even a dime from GSB,” Liao said.

Besides e-mailing the Daily, members of the Chinese Student and Scholar Association wrote to ISU President Martin Jischke and made an appointment with the general manager and advertising manager of the Daily.

Jeanette Antisdel, the general manager of the Daily, said the Daily runs any ad that is legal and in good taste.

Antisdel said she thought the problem was a misunderstanding.

“I think they misunderstood that the Daily doesn’t endorse those beliefs,” Antisdel said. “I don’t think they understand the difference between an ad and an editorial.

“There are instances where American citizens for a long time confuse editorials with ads,” Antisdel said. “And when you add cultural differences and the way newspapers work in different countries, you can see why there would be misunderstandings.”

After meeting with the Daily officials, Ye Feng, the vice president of the Chinese Student and Scholar Friendship Association, said he was planning to report to the association about the meeting.

He said the Chinese students are still upset with the Daily and with the “inappropriate” advertisement. But he said the group would consider what its response would be.