The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Beijing a day after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) referred to Taiwan’s Asian Winter Games athletes as representing Zhongguo Taibei (Taipei, China, 中國台北), instead of Zhonghua Taibei (Chinese Taipei, 中華台北).
The TAO at a routine news conference said that Chinese “welcome the Taipei, China team attending the 9th Asian Winter Games and congratulate Taipei, China athletes’ performance and achievements on the field.”
This year’s Asian Winter Games are being hosted in Harbin, China.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
In response, the MAC in a statement said that Taiwan “solemnly condemns” the TAO’s phrasing as a breach of the “Olympic model.”
The term refers to an agreement between Taiwan and the International Olympic Committee to resolve matters involving Taiwan’s representation in international sporting events.
“The Republic of China is a sovereign independent country with a president elected by popular vote, and a government organized according to the principles of democracy and the rule of law,” the MAC said.
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, which oversees the nation’s team at the Asian Winter Games, is equal to its foreign counterparts and its affairs are not China’s to meddle with, it said.
Beijing’s attempt to denigrate Taiwan “will not change the reality of the mutually non-subordinate nature of the relationship between the two parties across the Taiwan Strait, or have any effect beyond eliciting the resentment of Taiwanese,” it added.
The state-run China Sports Daily also referred to the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee as the Taipei, China committee in a report on a meeting between representatives of the Taiwanese organization and their Chinese counterparts.
Separately, the Sports Administration also criticized the TAO’s statement as a deviation from the Olympic model and going against the fact that Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China.
“The Chinese government discredited itself in the eyes of Taiwanese and the global community by refusing to follow rules governing the interaction between international organizations,” the agency said.
Beijing is urged to refrain from “using sports as a tool to belittle Taiwan, conduct ‘united front’ propaganda or other actions contrary to positive cross-strait relations,” it said.
When asked to comment on China’s position on the “Olympic model” agreement, TAO spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) accused journalists of misunderstanding the agreement, because it applies to sporting events, but not their coverage by the media.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
RSS