The Sports Administration on Friday said it would ask the Taiwanese kendo association to lodge a protest with the International Kendo Federation (FIK) after a Taiwanese athlete was allowed to represent China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, earlier this month.
The administration made the remarks after YouTuber Potter King (波特王) uploaded a video alleging that a Taiwanese kendo practitioner identified as Su Yu-cheng (蘇郁程) competed for the Chinese team at the championship from July 4 to July 7.
The administration asked the association to look into Su’s identity while informing the Tokyo-based federation, the organizer of the world championships, of the matter and to check what nationality he used when he competed.
Photo from Su Yu-cheng’s Facebook
Su, as a Taiwanese national, should be disqualified if he represented China, the administration said, adding that it would resort to relevant laws if it is confirmed that he competed as a Chinese national.
The FIK later confirmed that the Chinese kendo association had applied for Su to participate in the competition using his Xiamen, China, residence and work permit, the Taiwanese association said.
Based on the rules of the tournament, competitors can apply to compete for a country without a passport if the head of a national kendo association submits an application to the FIK.
The Taiwanese kendo association said Su is a long-term resident in Xiamen, but it was not yet known if he had switched his citizenship to the People’s Republic of China.
The matter has been handed over to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), it added.
Last week, MAC Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) cited the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) as saying that Taiwanese nationals may not have household registration in China or hold passports issued by Beijing.
“We will revoke his Taiwanese nationality if he holds Chinese nationality,” Liang said.
In an interview video uploaded by Excellence (卓越電子報) on YouTube in November last year, Su said he came from Taipei and that “I want to revive the kendo culture of the Chinese nation. I want to represent China’s national team at the world championships.”
Following the tournament, he wrote in a Facebook post he and his teammates “have prepared for our same dream for six years.”
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