Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) on Wednesday instructed all 121 embassies and representative offices worldwide to be vigilant in spotting and correcting the use of “Chinese Taipei” by foreign governments, non-governmental organizations, and media outlets when referring to Taiwan, spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said yesterday.
The instruction was handed down after it was recently discovered that the term “Chinese Taipei” had become quite prevalent when referring to Taiwan, Chen told the Taipei Times.
The nation’s correct name, said the spokesman, is the Republic of China (ROC), or Taiwan.
On Tuesday, the Taipei Times asked Chen about the use of “Chinese Taipei” in a Jakarta Post online news story dated Aug. 13 titled “14 Chinese Taipei shoemakers to assess possible investment.”
The Taipei Times also discovered that Boston University Library, the French car maker Citroen, the International Energy Agency and Wikigender.com also used the term “Chinese Taipei” as Taiwan’s official designation.
Several airlines, such as American Airlines, as well as some travel service agencies also call Taiwan “Chinese Taipei” because of the fact that the International Air Transport Association lists “Chinese Taipei” as one of its participating members.
Last week, Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) readers wrote in to the paper saying that “Chinese Taipei” appeared on the immigration homepage for both Australia and Thailand.
Canberra and Bangkok deleted the term and replaced it with “Taiwan” within 24 hours after MOFA notified them.
Lee Tsung-fen (李宗芬), deputy director-general of the Department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said yesterday that staff at the Jakarta Post explained that the Aug. 13 story was edited by a junior editor who “might have been influenced by the Olympic Games,” in which Taiwan was called “Chinese Taipei.”
“The Indonesia representative office expressed our concerns to the senior editor and he promised to convey our message to the staff,” Lee said, when asked if the paper had agreed to correct the mistake.
So far, only Boston University and Citroen have not answered the Taipei Times’ e-mail inquiries about their use of “Chinese Taipei.”
The term “Chinese Taipei” was created in March 1981 as a compromise reached among Beijing, the International Olympic Committee and the ROC government to allow Taiwanese athletes to compete in sporting events.
“Chinese Taipei” is also used as Taiwan’s designation in some international organizations such as APEC and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has proposed the use of “Chinese Taipei” in next year’s bid to join the WHO.
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