Restoring Taiwanese dignity
The disqualification of a participant in an international sporting event involving multiple contestants carries finality and irreversibility.
Therefore, a decision to do so can never be taken — especially when there is alleged cheating — without irrefutable evidence.
The Asian Taekwondo Union (ATU) formally accused “Chinese Taipei” of “shocking acts of deception” when it disqualied a female Taiwanese athlete in this year’s Asian Games.
Yet, only after two days of flip-flopping did the ATU come up with an explanation for the on-site disqualification, an incredulous luxury enjoyed by few referees in other sports.
The delay and lack of clarity make it a simple matter to conclude that this was a fabrication designed to deprive the athlete of victory. On the other hand, the question of “why?” deserves delving into.
On the surface, the answer seems obvious judging from the fact that the Chinese official, who served the dual role of the event’s technical consultant as well as the coach of the eventual gold-medal winner, initiated the accusation and followed through by “participating” in the entire “contemplating” process to come up with a final rationale for the disqualification.
Still, individual interests alone can hardly explain why an international sports organization deliberately insulted the entire population of Taiwan.
Incidents involving referees’ lack of impartiality in international sporting events might not be infrequent, but it is unheard of in the modern era for an international sports organization to intentionally wade into political controversy and kick the diplomatic equivalent of a hornet’s nest.
Without much risk of -simplicity, one could surmise that either this is part of China’s efforts to demoralize the Taiwanese people or that Taiwanese have become a magnet attracting contempt, or both.
China’s psychological warfare to undermine Taiwanese has picked up pace lately to reflect the new political environment after the signing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). Minor skirmishes aside, there was last month’s Tokyo International Film Festival incident and now this.
The fact that Taiwan’s national dignity undoubtedly nose-dived after President Ma Ying-Jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration notwithstanding, there have also been notable milestones.
There was that moment when Ma’s police roughed Taiwanese who waved national flags at locations remotely visible by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), during his first visit to Taiwan.
Then there was the scene where Ma’s hand-picked representative rejoiced at the WHO’s observer “seat” — “benevolently bestowed” by Beijing and tethered to a short leash in the form of an annual nod.
The trend culminated when Taiwanese meekly accepted a financial-greed stamped ECFA, jointly brokered by the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which is clearly predicated on the principle of Beijing’s “one China” policy. There is a universally negative view of those who trade their national sovereignty for dollars.
Given that Ma’s fingerprints are all over this momentous slide in Taiwan’s national dignity, signs of Taiwanese voting en mass against Ma and the KMT in Saturday’s multi-metropolis elections would go a long way to reversing that trend.
HUANG JEI-HSUAN
Los Angeles, California
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