The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reiterated for the third time that it would not approve any change to the name of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC), adding that the title was determined by an agreement signed in 1981 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
National Olympic Committee (NOC) Relations and Olympic Solidarity director Pere Miro sent a letter, dated Friday, to CTOC president Lin Hong-dow (林鴻道) and Sports Administration Director-General Kao Chin-hsung (高俊雄).
The nation on Saturday is to vote in a referendum that asks whether the name of the national team competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games should be changed from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan.”
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Taipei Times
The IOC Executive Board said in a letter in May that it would not allow the Taiwanese delegation to attend the Olympic Games under a different name.
Last month, it sent another letter to express its concern about the name-change referendum.
Unlike the first two letters, which were sent only to the CTOC, Friday’s letter was sent to the CTOC and the Sports Administration.
The letter said that the IOC does not interfere in local procedures and fully respects freedom of expression, but added that the committee was reiterating that the matter fell under its jurisdiction to avoid unnecessary expectations or speculation.
“The name of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee is determined by the agreement signed between the CTOC and the IOC in 1981, and any change to the name ... is subject to the approval of the IOC Executive Board, in accordance with the Olympic Charter,” the letter said.
The IOC said its executive board examined the matter at its May meeting and confirmed that it would not approve any name change.
The 1981 agreement remains unchanged and fully applicable, it said, adding that breaching the agreement or going against the executive board’s decision would expose the CTOC to corrective measures set out in the Olympic Charter.
The Sports Administration yesterday said that its priority is to protect the athletes’ right to compete internationally and ensure that CTOC membership in the IOC does not breach the Olympic Charter.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and