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Foreign ministry won’t play Beijing’s name game

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday that the government would never accept translating the name of the country’s sports teams as “Taipei, China.”

“The foreign ministry and the Mainland Affairs Council [MAC] have insisted that the name ‘Chinese Taipei’ cannot be translated as ‘Taipei, China,’” ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) told a regular press briefing.

His statement came one day after Yang Yi (楊毅), spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that “Chinese Taipei” — the name used by Taiwan’s Olympic Committee at international athletic events — can be translated as both Zhongguo Taibei (中國台北, “Taipei, China”) and Zhonghua Taibei (中華台北, “Chinese Taipei”).

Yang said that while the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (BOCOG) would use Zhonghua Taibei at venues and on printed materials, this did not necessarily apply to other organizations, groups or individuals.

He said it should not be seen as belittling Taiwan if people outside the BOCOG translated “Chinese Taipei” as Zhongguo Taibei, “as this translation is also acceptable.”

Yang’s remarks triggered widespread speculation that Beijing was trying to belittle Taiwan.

MAC Vice Chairman Chang Liang-jen (張良任) took issue with Yang’s remarks on Wednesday, saying that “Chinese Taipei” was the name agreed upon by the Olympic committees of both Taiwan and China in 1989 and that the government was firmly opposed to the use of “Taipei, China.”

Chen said the foreign ministry respected MAC’s stance because the council is in charge of cross-strait affairs.

As to what name should be used internationally, Chen said the foreign ministry was mainly concerned with professionalism, functionality as well as maintaining the principles of pragmatism and flexibility.

Meanwhile, the Sports Affairs Council (SAC) said yesterday that the government would not boycott the Olympics because the agency that reported Yang’s comments was a non-governmental organization. Therefore, it would not recognize his comments as an official gesture to lower the status of Taiwan.

In an official statement, the SAC rejected the idea that the Chinese government was entitled to translate “Chinese Taipei” as Zhongguo Taibei.

An agreement signed in Hong Kong in 1989 stated that athletic teams or organizations representing Taiwan would follow IOC regulations when participating in the sports competitions in China, the SAC statement said.

That agreement specified that Taiwan would be referred to as Zhonghua Taibei in Chinese characters in any of the Games’ publications or public information, including brochures, invitation letters, athletic badges and media broadcasts.

“If both sides had agreed that the Chinese government could translate the official title of the Taiwanese team however they wanted, then why was there a need for negotiations in the first place?” the statement said.

“If both sides settled on Zhonghua Taibei, then no one can say the Chinese government has the unilateral right of translation. Nor is this an issue of interference from third parties,” it said.

“This would be an issue if any side has unilaterally violated terms of the agreement,” the statement said.

The SAC said that Taiwan would avoid a confrontation, given that cross-strait negotiations had helped improve relations.

It was unnecessary for China to take advantage of Taiwan over such a petty thing, it said.

“The move will only serve to create doubts, misunderstandings and disgust among the people of Taiwan,” the statement said. “The Chinese government should also educate the public during the Beijing Olympics about the content of the Hong Kong agreement, rather than using its same old tricks.”

At a separate setting yesterday, DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) slammed Beijing for trying to downgrade Taiwan.

“It is no surprise that the Chinese government is becoming more aggressive toward us because President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) does not fight back,” he said.

Tsai said the athletes’ order of appearance during next month’s opening ceremonies could provide another chance for China to belittle Taiwan, “and create an impression for the world that Taiwan is a part of China.”

Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
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