Taiwan has withdrawn from hosting the Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship this year due to China’s objection on political grounds, a press release on the Iran Volleyball Federation’s Web site said on Tuesday.
The Asian Volleyball Confederation wrote on Facebook that the tournament, originally scheduled to be held in Taiwan from July 20 to July 27, would be hosted in Surabaya, Indonesia, from July 23 to 30.
The confederation’s post did not offer any reason for the change, but the Iranian body’s press release, recapping an online meeting of the confederation on Tuesday, said that Taiwan made a decision to “withdraw” from hosting the tournament.
File Photo: grab from Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association (CTVA) website
“The reason behind the withdrawal was China’s objection, on political grounds, to its ability to participate in the competition,” the press release said.
Participation in the competition was “a topic of relevance” because it is Asia’s qualification tournament for the Men’s U21 World Championships next year, the press release said.
China had since last month demanded a change in hosts, but the final decision was made at the confederation’s meeting, sources said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan’s national volleyball association has not commented on what transpired.
Its secretary general, Huang Kuo-kuang (黃國光), said that the association would follow the Asian body’s schedules and arrangements.
China sent a team to Taiwan to participate in the tournament in 2016, but since the Taipei 2017 Universiade, it has not attended any sports events in the nation.
The national association is still preparing to host the Asian Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup this year, likely consisting of 12 teams, Huang said, adding that the tournament’s dates are yet to be finalized.
Separately, a professor yesterday said that China is enhancing its pressure on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government given the results of Saturday’s presidential election, citing Nauru on Monday cutting diplomatic ties with the nation and the volleyball decision.
Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁), a professor at National Sun Yat-sen University’s Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies, said that Beijing was not going to change its plans regarding Taiwan — which include signing a cross-strait peace treaty and starting negotiations for unification — no matter who won the presidency, even if the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), had won.
China would continue to put pressure on Taiwan and might have even accelerated its plans had Hou won, Kuo said.
Making Nauru cut ties was to put pressure on the DPP-led government and demand that Vice President William Lai (賴清德), who won the presidency, accept the so-called “1992 consensus,” Kuo said.
However, were Taiwan to accept, it would be locked into a “one China” framework leading to negotiations over unification, he said.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
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