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Name debate misses point: PRC pundit

Chinese commentator Li Jiaquan (李家泉) told a Hong Kong newspaper on Monday that it did not matter if "Taipei, China" (Zhongguo Taibei, 中國台北) or "Chinese Taipei' (Zhonghua Taibei, 中華台北) were used for Taiwan's Olympics team because both terms incorporate the idea of "one China" and are thus interchangeable.

Li, who specializes in cross-strait relations and is a frequent commentator in Chinese media, told the pro-China newspaper Wen Wei Po that the debate over the terms was pointless because there was little difference between them.

The crucial point, he said, was that both have the character zhong, which refers to “China.”

He said that the term Zhongguo Taibei does not mean “People’s Republic of China, Taipei,” but instead represented the unity of China.

He also said the title “People’s Republic of China” and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) preferred name for Taiwan, the Republic of China, share the full word for China, Zhonghua, suggesting that Taiwan and China are one.

This was the foundation for present and future cross-strait talks, he said.

Li said China would not yield on issues of sovereignty. Support for the Democratic Progressive Party and the pan-green camp’s principle of “de jure Taiwanese independence” was decreasing, while support for the KMT and the pan-blue camp’s stance was increasing, he said.

However, Li said that using terms such as “Chinese Taipei” to promote the recognition of a separate Taiwanese entity was unacceptable to China.
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