Pro-independence groups yesterday renewed their call for a referendum to rename the national sports team from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan” when participating in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
A coalition that includes the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), the Social Democratic Party, World United Formosans for Independence, some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and the Lee Teng-hui Association for Democracy urged the public to join the referendum initiative as part of a name rectification movement.
The nation’s athletes have participated in the Olympics under the names “Taiwan,” “Formosa” and “Republic of China (ROC),” but delegations also withdrew from some Games due to controversies over their titles until the term “Chinese Taipei” was adopted in 1981.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan is the only member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that is prohibited from using its name and national flag when participating in the Games, which is an insult to Taiwanese athletes, track and field Olympic medalist Chi Cheng (紀政) said.
Displaying the bronze medal she won at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, which the nation participated in under the name “Taiwan” after the IOC changed the name from “ROC” to avoid confusion with the Chinese delegation, Chi said the government was wrong when it decided not to participate under the name “Taiwan” in subsequent Games.
“The wrong decision has made us suffer this long and we are still fighting today to rectify Taiwan’s name,” she said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan People News founder Chen Yung-hsing (陳永興) criticized the DPP administration, saying a referendum proposal would be unnecessary if the government took the initiative to rename the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) as the “Taiwan Olympic Committee” and launch a renaming process with the IOC.
“The Taiwanese government is the one that has kept obstructing Taiwan. From [former president] Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to the DPP, all of them have obstructed Taiwan,” Chen said.
New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said during last year’s revision of the National Sports Act (國民體育法), his party had proposed renaming the CTOC something more neutral — the “National Olympic Committee” — but was rebuffed.
This suggested that the DPP administration is imposing limitations or restrictions on itself, Lim said.
DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) said he felt “ashamed” as “external disruption and political realities have forced us [the DPP] to put aside our political ideals.”
Yao called on the public to join the referendum drive and then pass a plebiscite with a record-setting approval level.
The TSU has collected 3,400 signatures for the proposal since February last year to give to the Central Election Commission.
Campaigners hope a referendum could be held in conjunction with the nine-in-one local elections at the end of this year, TSU Chairman Liu Yi-te (劉一德) said.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached