Taiwan needs to be wary of political tactics China might use to thwart Taiwan's national status at the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing, National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports Chairman Chen Chuan-show (
Chen made the remarks when meeting with President Chen Shui-bian (
According to Deputy Secretary-General Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱), who was responsible for reporting on the meeting, Chen Chuan-show said the council has obtained information indicating that Beijing is designing some Olympic programs to invite Taiwan to partake in under the disguise of the traditional Olympic events.
Beijing has delineated a route for the Olympic torch relay in Asia, with runners carrying the flame through Taipei, Hong Kong, Macao, and along to Korea and Japan, dubbing it "the Silkera Network torch relay."
"We think that such a plan reveals clearly Beijing's attempt to degrade Taiwan's national status from that of an independent country to a part of China's territory," the DPP's Information and Culture Department Director Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said yesterday.
"Beijing is trying to confuse the international community's recognition of Taiwan and make a false impression that Taiwan is part of China as the 2008 Olympics kicks off in Beijing," Cheng said. "It is a political maneuver that we need to pay attention to."
Additionally, according to Chen Chuan-show, Beijing also plans to ask the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to force Taiwan to change its competition name from "Chinese Taipei," as registered in the IOC to "China Taipei."
Beijing has also asked Taiwan to enter the Olympic arena at the opening ceremony in alphabetical order, under the letter "C" as is China.
In the DPP's central standing committee, President Chen Shui-bian said all the governmental departments must take precautions in advance of the 2008 Olympic Games.
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