Prospects & Perspectives No. 45 August 26, 2021 Prospects & Perspectives Taiwanese athletes did their country proud in the Tokyo Olympics, winning a total of 12 medals. The Diplomat magazine adopted the title “Taiwan – Sorry, ‘Chinese Taipei’ – Is Having a Fantastic Olympics” to describe why most Taiwanese have chosen not to use the “makeshift” name. The international community seems to have reached some consensus that the name “Chinese Taipei” is now untenable, if not obsolete. Picture source: Taiwan Presidential Office, July 12, 2021, Flicker, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/presidentialoffice/51305712456/>. Taiwan’s Olympic Name Conundrum By Junwei Yu T aiwanese athletes did their country proud in the Tokyo Olympics, winning a total of 12 medals, including gold medals in men’s doubles badminton and women’s 59kg weightlifting. Their all-round performance sent Prospects & Perspectives No. 45 August 26, 2021 the nation into a wild frenzy, with the Taiwanese government arranging for four Mirage 2000 fighter jets to accompany a group of Taiwanese athletes on their return flight to Taiwan. Taiwan’s record-breaking number of medals has also put a spotlight on the name of its delegation at international competitions like the Olympics. The Diplomat magazine adopted the title “Taiwan – Sorry, ‘Chinese Taipei’ – Is Having a Fantastic Olympics” to describe why most Taiwanese have chosen not to use the “makeshift” name. Moreover, an increasing number of foreign media chose to use “Taiwan” to describe the democratic entity. The Japanese NHK anchor introduced the Taiwanese delegation as “Taiwan” to its viewers. Likewise, South Korea’s MBC channel announced that “Taiwanese athletes” entered the stadium. The U.S.’ NBC Universal even showed an “incomplete map” without Taiwan and the South China Sea during the entry of the Chinese athletes. Despite strong protests from Chinese officials and netizens, the international community seems to have reached some consensus that the name “Chinese Taipei” is now untenable, if not obsolete. In the Name of Legitimacy Because of Taiwan’s peculiar status and complicated history, its delegations have been given a host of names, be it in English or Chinese, at the Olympics. The Chinese civil war ended in 1949, resulting in victory for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which overthrew the Republic of China (ROC) and established the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The ousted KMT (Nationalists) were forced to flee to Taiwan, where they claimed to represent the sole legitimate government of China. Even though the KMT and CCP were archenemies, they shared common ground with the notion of “One China,” under which Taiwan is regarded as an inalienable part of China. The struggle soon spilled over to the international sporting stage, mainly concerning the question of who could best represent the ‘‘legitimate’’ China. In the 1952 Olympics, the KMT pulled out from the Games as soon as they realized that Helsinki had issued invitation to the PRC. In 1956, after failing to block Taiwan’s participation in Melbourne, the PRC withdrew its delegation from the Olympics, and later pulled out of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) altogether. Backed by strong support from the U.S., Taiwan was able to take part in international sporting events, though not without facing constant challenges. Prospects & Perspectives No. 45 August 26, 2021 Questions had been raised many times over whether the ROC could legitimately claim to represent the “whole” China as it only controlled a tiny section of the territory. Interestingly, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek showed flexibility concerning the name of the delegations from 1960 Olympics onwards, as the international situation turned against Taiwan. The IOC decided that Taiwan should compete under the name “Formosa” in Rome, which not only angered the KMT but also the U.S.. The Nixon administration even asked Chiang to pull out from the Games if they use “Formosa,” because it would concede that the ROC is a mere local government. Paradoxically, Taiwan denied the U.S. wish and accepted the IOC’s offer. Chiang believed that decathlete K.C. Yang had a great opportunity of scooping gold for Taiwan, which would greatly enhance the ROC’s visibility on the international stage. A Whole New Ball Game with a New Name The awkward status of the ROC was jeopardized as the U.S. and China reached a level of rapprochement in the 1970s. First in 1971, a United Nations resolution replaced the ROC with PRC as the sole legitimate government of China, which prompted many countries to cut off official relations with Taiwan. The normalization of U.S.-China relations in 1979 further pushed Taiwan to the edge. The 1972 Munich Olympics was the last time Taiwan competed under the name “Republic of China” before its membership was suspended by the IOC. Eventually, the 1979 Nagoya Resolution reached by the IOC and the PRC enabled Taiwan to take part in sporting events starting from the 1984 Sarajevo winter Olympics, albeit under the bizarre name “Chinese Taipei,” which most foreign media had no idea what it referred to. The so-called “Olympic formula” forced Taiwan to replace the flag and national anthem under which it had hitherto competed with a delegation flag and a national flag anthem that have caused growing dissatisfaction among the Taiwanese. The KMT President Ma Ying-jeou reconciled with China economically, culturally, and diplomatically during his eight-year tenure in office. In return, China offered perks to the KMT, whose mayors could get the nod to host international games without obstruction from Beijing. In addition, Chinese media outlets showed “goodwill” by calling Taiwan “Chinese Taipei” rather than “China Taipei,” which had been used extensively during the President Chen Shui-Bian era. However, the landslide victory by the Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 was in part a reaction of the Prospects & Perspectives No. 45 August 26, 2021 Taiwanese public, who feared the loss of Taiwan’s sovereignty and economic over-reliance on China. Cross-Strait relations deteriorated as the iron-fisted President Xi Jinping rose to power. To erode Taiwan’s exposure internationally, in 2018 China, after coercing other member states to go along, waywardly called off the East Asian Youth Games, which had been awarded to Taichung five years earlier. A Green Light for ‘Taiwan’? China’s outright suppression, combined with surging Taiwanese identity, have given rise to a name-rectification movement. Led by Olympic bronze medalist Chi Cheng, a petition calling for a referendum on whether the national team should compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under the name “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei” was submitted to Central Election Committee. Prior to voting, the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) made its position clear when it stated that it objected to the name change and would continue to use “Chinese Taipei” even if a majority of the public voted in favor of the change. Taiwanese athletes were caught in the middle, and some urged the public to vote against changing the name to avoid the risk of being denied the right to take part in international competitions. Many athletes and coaches convened at the CTOC held placards which read, “I want to join the Olympics,” “Support Chinese Taipei,” and “Politics should not interfere in sports.” Despite the lukewarm support for the current name “Chinese Taipei,” a slim majority of 52.3 percent, or 5,774,556 votes, voted “no” in the referendum, against 43.1 percent, or 4,763,086, who voted “yes.” Campaign organizers attributed the defeat of the referendum to what they called the CTOC’s manipulation of athletes and public opinion. The huge successes achieved at the Tokyo Olympics has once again kindled Taiwanese awareness and identity. Chi Cheng and other civic groups have announced they plan to launch another referendum on the issue. If the public votes in favor of the name change in the next referendum, coupled with support from the Tsai administration, there will undoubtedly be repercussions for Taiwanese athletes. First, the IOC could certainly suspend Chinese Taipei’s membership due to “state interference” in the affairs of the CTOC, as happened with Kuwait 11 years ago. Second, Taiwanese could have to compete as Independent Olympic Athletes or under another strange name, such as the acronym ROC under which Russia competed in this year’s Olympics, under the Prospects & Perspectives No. 45 August 26, 2021 Olympic flag. Third, suspension could lead to the temporary expulsion from a number of international sports organizations that do not recognize the status of independent athletes. Considering all these factors, it remains to be seen whether Taiwanese society is willing to bear the consequences of suspension and vote “yes” in a forthcoming referendum. (Dr. Yu is Dean, College of Sport Education, Professor, Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan University of Sport) Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or the position of the Prospect Foundation. The Prospect Foundation is an independent research institution dedicated to the study of cross-Strait relations and international issues. The Foundation maintains active exchanges and communications with many think tanks of the world. Prospect Foundation No.1, Lane 60, Sec. 3, Tingzhou Rd., Zhongzheng District Taipei City, 10087, Republic of China (Taiwan) Tel: 886-2-23654366 Fax: 886-2-23679193 http://www.pf.org.tw .