Preview Puzzle - no not Thailand

by Rene | edited by alisya

Rene (ey/em) is co-captain for the Amateur Hour puzzle hunt team (newbie-friendly and always recruiting for the MIT Mystery Hunt what no this isn't a sneaky advertisement ey would never). When not suffering in a hell of eir own making a.k.a. constructing crosswords that contain three consecutive rows of nine-letter words (a concession after ey gave up on the ten-letter version), Rene can be found resurrecting eir alliance in Final Fantasy XIV, volunteering at the archery range, or scouring the city for authentic scallion pancakes.

A note from Rene: Everyone I know in Los Angeles is talking about the 2028 Summer Olympics: how in the world are we going to host, how congested are the roads going to be, did you manage to snag tickets, are the athletes going to even be able to enter the country. The usual. As for me, I'm thinking about how Taiwan is going to be competing yet again using a name and flag that are not its own, as is mandatory for its participation in numerous international forums and organizations -- if it's allowed to participate at all. This puzzle is my little act of defiance in the face of oppression: a love letter to Taiwan that also shoves the forbidden Taiwanese flag in everyone's faces. Many thanks to Terry and Alisya for setting all this up and giving me this opportunity to shine like the symbol in 5-Across. Assuming I haven't just gotten us all shut down by the CCP, I look forward to solving everyone's crosswords this month!