The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday demanded that the government use “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei” during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and called on recently installed Sports Administration Director-General Lin Te-fu (林德福) to resign over his refusal to make the change.
TSU officials and members of the party’s youth department staged a demonstration in front of the Sports Administration’s office in Taipei, holding placards that said: “Taiwan is Taiwan,” “We are not Chinese Taipei,” “Down with ‘Olympic model,” “Rectify the name to Taiwan now” and “Down with Sports Administration, stop belittling Taiwan.”
Former TSU legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said the so-called “Olympic model” that says Taiwan must compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” was agreed to by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, but the political and social climate has since changed.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
“For transitional justice, this must also apply to our participation in international sporting events,” Chou said.
Chou said Taiwanese athletes should use the name that is a true representation of their nation.
“It is especially important. Even President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) always calls herself the president of Taiwan on the international stage,” Chou said.
The protest was directed at Lin, who in several media interviews and statements in recent weeks has said that the agency will continue to use the name “Chinese Taipei” for Taiwanese teams and athletes at the Olympic Games.
“We know people are not happy about using ‘Chinese Taipei,’ but we have to accept it. If we try to make a name change, maybe our right to take part in Olympics will be taken away, so that is another problem. At these international sports tournaments, we have to continue use the old moniker. It cannot be changed simply because we want to,” Lin said.
The “Olympic model” refers to the 1989 agreement reached between Taiwan and the International Olympic Committee that only the name “Chinese Taipei” — not “Taiwan” or “Republic of China (ROC)” — can be used at Olympic venues and that only the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee flag can be used at Olympic events.
“Why was Lin appointed head of the sports agency? We can see his attitude is typical of a ponderous, stuck-up bureaucrat. He is not worthy of the post. If he encounters any problems is he always going to say: ‘Well, it is difficult to change, so we have to abide by the old rules’?” Chou said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) asked government officials to fight for a name change at a legislative committee session.
“We should promote and support the campaign seeking to change the name from ‘Chinese Taipei’ to ‘Taiwan.’ There is a vigorous movement in Japan, which was initiated by Japanese and joined by Taiwanese living there. It has gathered more than 60,000 signatures and is to be presented to the International Olympic Committee,” Wang said.
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