Taiwanese pragmatism has long been praised when it comes to addressing Chinese attempts to erase Taiwan from the international stage.
“Taipei” and the even more inaccurate and degrading “Chinese Taipei,” imposed titles required to participate in international events, are loathed by Taiwanese.
That is why there was huge applause in Taiwan when Japanese public broadcaster NHK referred to the Taiwanese Olympic team as “Taiwan,” instead of “Chinese Taipei” during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.
What is standard protocol for most nations — calling a national team by the name their country is commonly known by — is impossible for Taiwan due to lobbying and obstruction from Beijing.
Not only does it hamper Taiwan’s efforts to project its soft power, it also warps the international perception of Taiwan, severely restricting countries from aiding Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
China’s intimidation campaign not only aims to strip Taiwan of its identity, it seeks to frame it as a domestic issue, discouraging friendly nations from intervening should China attempt to annex Taiwan by force.
The Formosa Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) last week announced that it would relaunch a petition in the US for the one-year anniversary of the reintroduction of Taiwan Representative Office Act in the US Senate. The campaign aims to pressure US lawmakers to pass bills that encourage the US Department of State to rename Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington, from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office to the “Taiwan Representative Office.” A similar bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives in May last year.
Some argue that names matter less than policy. However, if the name of Taiwan’s chief diplomatic mission in the US, a country Taiwan relies heavily on for security, is mislabeled to imply that Taiwan is a part of China, it could severely hamper public support for critical US interference should Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) ever decide to pull the trigger.
That is when perception becomes substance. FAPA has advocated for name changes for more than two decades to enhance Taiwan’s defenses against Chinese annexation and maintain the nation’s unique identity.
Throughout history the power of public perception has influenced democracies. Look no further than the Vietnam War.
“The Living Room War” could easily repeat itself when it comes to ever growing Chinese ambitions on Taiwan. From Russia and Cuba, to North Korea and China, there is overwhelming evidence of how autocracies take advantage of free speech and diplomatic channels in democracies to influence public perception.
FAPA president Kao Su-mei (林素梅) said that following conventions currently set by China, namely forcing Taiwan to use “Chinese Taipei,” only emboldens and enables the international bullying of Taiwan.
That was evident at the World Baseball Classic, where Taiwan must compete as “Chinese Taipei” at the behest of China.
Whether it is the naming of Taiwan’s de facto embassies, sports teams, or the coercion of companies and academic conferences to identify the nation as “Taiwan, China,” the efforts represent a form of cognitive warfare designed to erode the Taiwanese identity and prevent international support, she said.
FAPA executive director Anny Hsiao (蕭喬勻) added that she often encounters naysayers who argue that Taipei should not “provoke” Beijing by altering something they view as merely symbolic.
However, while changing the name of a de facto embassy might seem symbolic relative to live-fire exercises and the long-term consequences of “gray zone” tactics, on the international front, politically ambiguous names marginalize Taiwan by reducing it to a city connected to China, creating an implicit subordination that does not reflect reality.
Calling Taiwanese establishments that represent the country abroad — especially diplomatic missions and national teams that project statehood — using terms that reflect the reality of Taiwan as an independent, vibrant, functioning democratic nation-state is critical in preserving Taiwan’s autonomy, way of life and unique identity.
It is up for the public to work alongside advocacy groups like FAPA to push for such meaningful changes.
Rath Wang is a political commentator based in Taipei focusing on Taiwanese politics, media, civil society and key issues influencing the country’s future. He is a producer and host of current affairs talk shows and podcasts and has worked on political campaigns and lived in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and the US.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) sits down with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday next week, Xi is unlikely to demand a dramatic public betrayal of Taiwan. He does not need to. Beijing’s preferred victory is smaller, quieter and in some ways far more dangerous: a subtle shift in American wording that appears technical, but carries major strategic meaning. The ask is simple: replace the longstanding US formulation that Washington “does not support Taiwan independence” with a harder one — that Washington “opposes” Taiwan independence. One word changes; a deterrence structure built over decades begins to shift.
The cancelation this week of President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visit to Eswatini, after the Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius revoked overflight permits under Chinese pressure, is one more measure of Taiwan’s shrinking executive diplomatic space. Another channel that deserves attention keeps growing while the first contracts. For several years now, Taipei has been one of Europe’s busiest legislative destinations. Where presidents and foreign ministers cannot land, parliamentarians do — and they do it in rising numbers. The Italian parliament opened the year with its largest bipartisan delegation to Taiwan to date: six Italian deputies and one senator, drawn from six
Recently, Taipei’s streets have been plagued by the bizarre sight of rats running rampant and the city government’s countermeasures have devolved into an anti-intellectual farce. The Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office has attempted to eradicate rats by filling their burrows with polyurethane foam, seeming to believe that rats could not simply dig another path out. Meanwhile, as the nation’s capital slowly deteriorates into a rat hive, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection has proudly pointed to the increase in the number of poisoned rats reported in February and March as a sign of success. When confronted with public concerns over young
Taipei is facing a severe rat infestation, and the city government is reportedly considering large-scale use of rodenticides as its primary control measure. However, this move could trigger an ecological disaster, including mass deaths of birds of prey. In the past, black kites, relatives of eagles, took more than three decades to return to the skies above the Taipei Basin. Taiwan’s black kite population was nearly wiped out by the combined effects of habitat destruction, pesticides and rodenticides. By 1992, fewer than 200 black kites remained on the island. Fortunately, thanks to more than 30 years of collective effort to preserve their remaining
RSS