Chinese Taipei in Rio
It was a mixed feeling of admiration, respect, disappointment and frustration to watch the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games’ opening ceremony in the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janaeiro on Friday last week. Brazil is not a country rich in finance. Some protest chaos made the world worried about this international event before its opening.
However, the ceremony was opened with pride and confidence. Rio convinced audiences worldwide that Brazil was well prepared. They placed a screen on the ground to reflect colorful natural resources of the nation and the long history of the country; they divided the huge field into countless sections they called Metropolis with different levels; model Gisele Bundchen walked a long catwalk and led the world toward a greener future, it was just amazing and vibrant. Brazil spent a small amount of money, but even under difficult circumstances, it ended as big success for the first-ever Olympic Games held in South America.
The three hours and 54 minutes opening ceremony went smoothly. More than 11,000 athletes from 207 national Olympic Committees marched into the stadium during the Parade of Nations, the crowd gave applause for whoever entered. For the first time Syria received a standing ovation and the biggest applause. Fifty-eight athletes joined the parade under the banner of Chinese Taipei.
What is “Chinese Taipei”? Are Taiwanese Chinese? Many Taiwanese-Americans waited the whole night to watch the Taiwanese team join the show, but were deeply frustrated and upset to see it under the disgusting name tag “Chinese Taipei.” Why does Hong Kong still compete under the banner “Hong Kong,” but Taiwan has to compete under a name we dislike? Does it mean Taiwan is part of China?
Yes, the Republic of China’s (ROC) government used to represent all of China and earned the title of “Chinese National Olympics Committee” until 1952 when it changed to “China (Formosa)” and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was recognized as “Chinese Olympic Committee.”
In 1960 the International Olympics Committee (IOC) asked the ROC to use either “Taiwan” or “Formosa” to participate, but the delegates held a sign “Under Protest” to march during the Parade of Nations. In 1979 the IOC recognized the PRC officially representing China and the ROC renamed itself the Chinese Taipei Olympics Committee and it has not changed to this day.
Reviewing the past, the IOC recognized that the PRC officially represented China, which is fair and true. The question is who was the ROC representing after 1949 and even today, China or Taiwan? The ROC does not even know who it is. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was kicked out of China by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. The KMT party members who came to Taiwan as political refugees did not own Taiwan, but the party acted as a sovereign ruler of Taiwan and party members still think they represent China.
After outlaws ravaged Taiwan for more than half a century, the KMT finally lost power to a Taiwan-centered political party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but still under the head of the ROC. So, who are the DPP/ROC government representing, Taiwan or China? That is the heart of the problem.
If the ROC represents Chinese, then it actively invites the PRC to force Taiwanese out, if the ROC represents Taiwan then it needs to show evidence of sovereignty over Taiwan. What a shame that the ROC even is not recognized by the international community and allowed to show its name in an international parade.
There is a patriotic song that says, “no country how can have a home?” It means if there is no country, there can be no home. Is that right? In the Rio Olympics’ opening ceremony, there is a Refugee Olympic Team. These people no longer have a country, but they do have homes and athletes. However, the deputy leader of the delegation and vice chairman of the Chinese Taipei Olympics Committee Tsai Szu-chueh (蔡賜爵) said: “Put national honor above anything else” to Taiwan’s top female tennis player, Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇), after she announced: “As of today, I’m retiring from tennis in Taiwan, and I will never be drafted to play on the national team again.”
The whole issue originated because the committee would not allow her personal trainer to accompany her to the Games. Committee leaders were politically appointed by the former KMT government. These people only know how to play politics, they do not know how to take care of the athletes.
Democracy is a system of responsibility. This year Taiwanese voters elected President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to represent the nation. She also represented Taiwan as president at the Panama Canal Expansion Project opening ceremony in June. The DPP is the majority party in the Legislative Yuan, so Tsai’s government has full power to control both executive and legislative departments, meaning Tsai is wholly responsible for the future of Taiwan. Tsai must be careful when deciding how to rule. Please steer the nation firmly for Taiwan, not the ROC, because it leads to nothing but a dead end.
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
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