The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday accused Chinese media of downgrading Taiwan’s status by referring to the Taiwan Olympic team as Zhongguo Taibei (中國台北) — which they said means “Taipei, China” and implies that Taiwan is part of China.
DPP Cultural and Publicity Department Director Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) told a press conference that Chinese Central Television (CCTV) and Xinhua news agency had referred to Taiwan’s athletic team as Zhongguo Taibei when reporting that it had selected its representative team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Under a protocol signed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Taiwan’s Olympic team should be called “Chinese Taipei” or Zhonghua Taibei (中華台北), rather than Zhongguo Taibei or “Taipei, China,” Cheng said, adding that the Chinese media were up to their old tricks and ratcheting up the pressure on Taiwan in the run-up to the Olympics.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUN, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) called for the KMT administration to lodge a serious protest with the Beijing authorities through proper channels to prevent a downgrading of Taiwan’s status during the Olympics.
Yang Yi (楊毅), spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said last week that “Chinese Taipei” could be translated as both Zhongguo Taibei as well as the originally agreed-upon Zhonghua Taibei.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Taiwan will never accept translating the name of its sports teams as Zhongguo Taibei.
Meanwhile, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday offered its response to Beijing’s attempt to change the Chinese-language version of Taiwan’s official Olympic title.
Deputy MAC Chairman Liu Teh-hsun (劉德勳) said the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee has made clear its stance that the official title of Chinese Taipei should be Zhonghua Taibei, and not Zhongguo Taibei in Chinese as stipulated in a 1981 agreement.
The 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.
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee also reached a similar consensus in 1989, Liu said.
“It is important that both sides respect the consensus, regardless of where the games are held,” Liu said. “The host country should also abide by the regulations set by the International Olympic Committee and request all media reports about the Chinese Taipei Olympic team correspond to such a spirit.”
When asked whether the council would lodge a protest, Liu reiterated that both sides should “understand” and “respect” the consensus and “abide by the Olympic regulations and spirit.”
He emphasized that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee would continue to “fully express its stern position based on the spirit.” The council will also “continue to observe the situation” and he hoped the host country will “act in line with the Olympic spirit.”
The government has set up an emergency response mechanism to handle any situation in case China makes a fuss of the issue, Liu said yesterday. However, he offered few details of the inter-ministerial body, arguing that he was not a member.
As for its composition, Liu said it included those government agencies “whose businesses are related to the Games.”
Despite the name change by the Chinese media, the government has decided to allow Chinese correspondents to be stationed in Taiwan. Liu declined to comment on whether the government’s move signified clemency toward the Chinese media’s reports and refused to predict whether they would produce fairer reports in the future.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard