On Wednesday the Chinese Taipei Soccer Association announced that it will no longer seek to organize international tournaments in Taiwan unless the country's sports authorities provide clear instructions on the "Olympic model" for handling Taiwan's national flag at such events.
The association made the announcement in response to the uproar over the Taipei City government's ban on waving Taiwan's national flag at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Championship.
The association asked for clear guidelines from the Cabinet-level National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (
The association said the issue could easily spark disputes if left to individual sports associations to decide.
Beijing has pressured international sports organizations to block Taiwan from joining sports events under its official name.
In 1981, Taiwan was forced to sign an agreement with the International Olympic Committee before rejoining it. The agreement requires that Taiwan join IOC events under the name "Chinese Taipei" and use a generic Olympic flag and anthem, instead of the ROC's national flag and anthem.
However, whether the fans can bring and wave the flags has become a sore question since the AFC Women's Championship held earlier this month, where soccer fans waved Taiwan's national flag in the stadium but were quickly told not to do so by police officers.
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