THE QUESTION OF whether the Beijing Olympics can be compared to the 1936 Berlin Olympics has recently become a popular topic of conversation. Watching the opening ceremony, where renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) mobilized a large number of performers to extol ancient Chinese culture, it was hard not to think of the well-known documentary Leni Riefenstahl made about the Berlin Olympics.
Certainly, anyone comparing the Beijing Olympics with the Berlin Olympics is not doing so out of good will to Beijing. After all, Hitler used the Berlin Olympics, where Germany grabbed the most gold medals, to furbish the reputation of the Nazis before launching what developed into World War II. Those who loathe China have rushed to compare these two Olympic events, while those who support it have denounced such comparisons as meaningless.
Speaking of the Berlin Olympics, a competitor who is neither Taiwanese nor Chinese comes to mind — Sohn Kee-chung, the first Korean to win an Olympic gold at the Berlin Olympics marathon. Korea was then occupied by Japan, so Sohn represented Japan at the event. However, when the Japanese flag was raised at the awarding eremony, he hid the Japanese flag on his shirt with a laurel awarded as part of the ceremony. Sohn made it clear during an interview that Korea was his home country. This made him a Korean national hero, and he was the one who carried the Olympic torch at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
What does this Korean national hero have to do with Taiwan? I was born in the 1960s and Sohn’s story was included in elementary textbooks then. The story was introduced in Taiwan because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government hoped that the Taiwanese, who had also been colonized by Japan, would emulate Sohn’s national consciousness and cast off the shadow of Japanese colonialism to become full and dignified Republic of China nationals.
This story appears rather embarrassing in the context of the Beijing Olympics. The national title, “Republic of China,” is all but invisible and Taiwanese athletes can only be “full and dignified” representatives of Zhonghua Taibei (中華台北, Chinese Taipei).
Some supporters of the old party-state regime have called on Taiwanese athletes to follow the example of Sohn by displaying Taiwan’s “real flag” if they win. It is ironic then to see top-ranking leaders of the KMT — the party that established the old party-state system — shaking hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and telling the Taiwanese public that Taiwan has the “home advantage” in Beijing. This makes one wonder which national flag the athletes should display when they win a medal.
The spirit of nationalism abounds in this type of sporting event, where countries compete with one another. But with Taiwan still confused over its own national identity, what type of nationalism should it display — Taiwanese or Chinese? This is the tragedy of Taiwan.
Wang Yu-fong is a director of the North Pingtung Community College.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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