The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, opened in spectacular fashion on Feb. 9, with US Vice President Mike Pence, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and leaders of many other nations in attendance at the opening ceremony.
Thanks to the popularity of South Korean TV dramas, many Taiwanese must have had a feeling of familiarity as they watched the performances, with echoes of K-dramas like The Great Jang-Geum played out in icy sub-zero temperatures.
Although there were mixed reviews for the horse-riding dance to the tune of the South Korean hit song Gangnam Style during the opening ceremony, it did add some fun and a popular flavor to the program.
After all, the Winter Olympics are not really Asian people’s scene, since many of the sports events involved are ones that most of us will never get to try.
Of course, the big contingent of North Korean athletes, as well as the attendance of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister Kim Yo-jung, were the biggest focus of attention, but they also provided an unusual taste of political competition on the sports field.
The sad part is that, despite South Koreans having worked hard for several years to create the Winter Olympics, the nation’s formal title — the Republic of Korea — was nowhere to be seen when the games finally took place, and its national flag — the Taeguki — was not raised during the Games.
When US TV station NBC broadcast the ceremony, it mentioned several successes that South Korea has achieved in the field of science and technology, but also said that there was no “North Korea” or “South Korea” at this event, but rather a single team representing one Korea. After all those years of diligent preparation, it must have been difficult for the host country to bear these changes that were made after political forces intervened just a few weeks before the event.
This brings to mind a number of incidents connected with Taiwan. Several Taiwanese civic groups have launched the Team Taiwan Campaign for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, calling for a referendum aimed at replacing the clumsy title of “Chinese Taipei” used at the Olympic Games and other international sporting events with the straightforward name “Taiwan.”
In the US, Taiwanese Americans have launched a campaign for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the US to be renamed as the “Taiwan representative office,” which would not just reflect the will of Taiwanese, but also signify recognition by the international community.
The same can be said of the 2016 incident when US company Costco wrote a letter to the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, stating: “As you probably know, we have retail locations in Taiwan and very much consider it a country.”
Similarly, US Web site Yahoo Sports, in its Winter Olympics medals table, uses the name “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei,” showing recognition by international media that Taiwan is not part of China, so the name “Chinese Taipei” does not fit.
On Feb. 8, the Intelligent Community Forum, a global network, announced this year’s top seven intelligent communities, with three Taiwanese cities — Taoyuan, Chiayi and Tainan — among those selected. This is something for Taiwanese to be proud of and the forum’s Web site clearly states that these three cities are in Taiwan.
Indeed, Taiwan is our nation, and all the hard work and the resulting successes belong to Taiwanese.
Heaven helps those who help themselves, so go for it, Taiwan!
Mike Kuo is president of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs.
Translated by Julian Clegg
After nine days of holidays for the Lunar New Year, government agencies and companies are to reopen for operations today, including the Legislative Yuan. Many civic groups are expected to submit their recall petitions this week, aimed at removing many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers from their seats. Since December last year, the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) passed three controversial bills to paralyze the Constitutional Court, alter budgetary allocations and make recalling elected officials more difficult by raising the threshold. The amendments aroused public concern and discontent, sparking calls to recall KMT legislators. After KMT and TPP legislators again
Taiwan faces complex challenges like other Asia-Pacific nations, including demographic decline, income inequality and climate change. In fact, its challenges might be even more pressing. The nation struggles with rising income inequality, declining birthrates and soaring housing costs while simultaneously navigating intensifying global competition among major powers. To remain competitive in the global talent market, Taiwan has been working to create a more welcoming environment and legal framework for foreign professionals. One of the most significant steps in this direction was the enactment of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) in 2018. Subsequent amendments in
US President Donald Trump on Saturday signed orders to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China effective from today. Trump decided to slap 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10 percent on those coming from China, but would only impose a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy products, including oil and electricity. Canada and Mexico on Sunday quickly responded with retaliatory tariffs against the US, while countermeasures from China are expected soon. Nevertheless, Trump announced yesterday to delay tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month and said he would hold further talks with
Taiwan’s undersea cables connecting it to the world were allegedly severed several times by a Chinese ship registered under a flag of convenience. As the vessel sailed, it used several different automatic identification systems (AIS) to create fake routes. That type of “shadow fleet” and “gray zone” tactics could create a security crisis in Taiwan and warrants response measures. The concept of a shadow fleet originates from the research of Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. The phenomenon was initiated by authoritarian countries such as Iran, North Korea and Russia, which have been hit by international economic
RSS