President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday he found it a consolation that the nation’s title at the Olympic Games and arrangements for the opening ceremony procession have been resolved, voicing hope that there would be no controversies before the Beijing Games begin.
“Disputes over the designation of Taiwan’s Olympic team ... and its order of appearance at the opening ceremony have been resolved,” Ma said while visiting the National Sports Training Center in Zuoying (左營), Kaohsiung City, to present a national flag to the nation’s Olympic delegation.
Ma was referring to the notice received on Tuesday that the the Games’ opening procession on Aug. 8 will be arranged based on stroke number in in the first character of each country or territory’s name in simplified Chinese.
Under this system, Taiwan will be the 24th team to enter the stadium after Japan and before the Central African Republic and Hong Kong.
In the past, the Greek delegation has led the procession, followed by the rest of the teams in alphabetical order in the language of the host country, except for the host team, which is traditionally the final team.
Based on a protocol signed in 1981 between the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the “Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee” was abbreviated as “TPE” and therefore listed under the “T” section in the IOC’s directory and in the processions.
Ma said he was glad that both sides handled the matter in the spirit of “shelving differences and creating a win-win situation” and he hoped the Olympics would come off without a hitch because Beijing has been working hard to make it a success.
Meanwhile, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said the Beijing line-up would be acceptable if the arrangement was made in accordance with Olympic regulations and precedents, when he was asked if the Presidential Office considered the arrangement an attempt to denigrate Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Some have expressed concern that the arrangement might set an example for other countries, but Wang said cross-strait relations were improving and both sides extended goodwill to each other.
It was unnecessary for Taiwan to predict what would happen in the future, he said, adding that the Presidential Office believed both sides would find a suitable model that was mutually beneficial if both sides showed each other respect.
Executive Yuan Spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said the government had negotiated on an equal footing with China on Taiwan’s title at the Olympic Games and the placement of its athletes in the march.
The procession arrangements are in line with IOC regulations and the government does not see them as a bid to downgrade the country’s dignity, she said.
The government made it very clear during the negotiations that the arrangements were a “one time” deal and would not be applied to other competitions, she said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), however, accused China of trying to downgrade Taiwan’s status to that of an administrative region of China.
The “Chinese Taipei” team and Hong Kong’s “Hong Kong, China” team — Zhonghua Taibei (中華台北) and Zhongguo Xianggang (中國香港) — will be very close to each other.
Although Taiwan will not be grouped with China in the procession, the DPP was concerned a precedent would be set of Taiwan being grouped with China and Hong Kong in future Olympics and other international sports events.
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