The name “Chinese Taipei” could be considered one of the most controversial achievements of late International Olympics Committee (IOC) head Juan Antonio Samaranch, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 89.
The former Spanish diplomat, who died of cardio-respiratory failure in Barcelona, Spain, was instrumental in devising the “Chinese Taipei” formula in 1981 that allowed Taiwan to participate in the Games after the IOC decided in 1979 that China’s Beijing Olympic Committee would become the Chinese Olympic Committee.
“The clever technical arrangement by Samaranch made possible the coexistence of Taiwan and China in sporting competitions and set up Taiwan’s return to the Olympics,” Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), the only IOC member from Taiwan and chairman of the International Boxing Association, said in a statement Thursday.
Taiwan first competed as “Chinese Taipei” under the Chinese Taipei Olympics Committee flag in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Since then, it has participated in almost all international sporting events and some international organizations under that name.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄), a silver medalist in taekwondo at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has said that Taiwan should keep politics out of sports.
It’s not always easy, however.
As China squeezes Taiwan’s international maneuvering room, organizations increasingly refer to Taiwan as “Chinese Taipei,” including APEC, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the IMF, the World Bank and the WHO, among others.
Taiwan has also been called “Chinese Taipei” at Lions Club International events, the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants, the World Baseball Classic and the Little League World Series.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said the name “Chinese Taipei” sends an inaccurate message to the international community.
The name, he argues, suggests that Taiwan is happy and willing to accept the arrangement, which he compares to the status of “Hong Kong, China.”
Samaranch’s legacy has caused another problem: Translating “Chinese Taipei” into Chinese. While China translates it as Zhongguo Taibei (中國台北), suggesting that Taiwan is a part of China, Taiwan translates it as Zhonghua Taipei (中華台北),” where the translation for “Chinese” refers to a cultural entity rather than a state.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) first publicly referred to Taiwan as “Chinese Taipei” when he met then-KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) in May last year. The unprecedented move signified important political implications in cross-strait relations, Beijing-based researcher Xiao Yongguo wrote in an analysis for China Review News agency.
Hu’s remark implied the possibility of mutual non-denial between China and Taiwan and underlined a chance for Taiwan to participate in the international community under the name Chinese Taipei while handling domestic affairs under the Republic of China Constitution, he said.
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