Regardless of their physical disparities and amateur status, Taiwan's paraplegic, deaf and mentally handicapped teams haven't avoided the irksome shenanigans of Beijing that take place at international sports meets. Old rivalries still run deep, as Taiwan's paralympic team discovered nine years ago.
The slap in the face took place at the 1994 FESPIC Games in Beijing after a stadium announcer at the awards ceremony referred to Taiwan as "China Taipei" as opposed to the officially IOC recognized moniker of Chinese Taipei.
"I told them in no uncertain terms that if they didn't correct the mistake and announce [our] name in accordance with IOC rules that we would boycott the awards ceremony," said the paralympic committee director with a smirk. "Whether it was deliberate or not I don't know. They said it again properly, though and we took to the podium with the other teams."
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