Taiwan’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 championship is an historic achievement. Yet once again this achievement is marred by the indignity of the imposed moniker “Chinese Taipei.” The absurdity is compounded by the fact that none of the players are even from Taipei, and some, such as Paiwan catcher Giljegiljaw Kungkuan, are not even ethnically Chinese.
The issue garnered attention around the Paris Olympics, yet fell off the agenda as Olympic memories retreated. “Chinese Taipei” persists, and the baseball championship serves as a reminder that fighting “Chinese Taipei” must be a continuous campaign, not merely resurfacing around international competitions. This campaign requires sustained energy, and “Chinese Taipei” must be contested on all fronts.
“Chinese Taipei” has spread from the Olympics to numerous venues where Taiwan is represented internationally in a process known as “Chinese Taipei creep,” a critical part of China’s strategy to erase Taiwan internationally. Sporting associations, airlines and now even the nation of Denmark have all fallen to Chinese Taipei creep. Despite false portrayals in the media as a “compromise” between China and Taiwan, Taiwanese were never consulted and the name is a unilateral surrender to Chinese ultranationalists.
The intent of imposing “Chinese Taipei” is to subsume Taiwan into China in the public imagination.
Taiwan’s baseball champions are starting to fight back. Team Taiwan’s captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) has drawn praise for holding his hands in an empty frame across his chest where his nation’s name should be. The gesture has been widely adopted, including by President William Lai (賴清德).
Japanese media eschewed “Chinese Taipei” for Taiwan, setting an important example for international media. Taiwanese fans also flooded the Tokyo Dome with Taiwanese flags and banners, for all the world to see. Their ability to express their identity freely in Japan contrasts darkly with the cowardice of French authorities this summer.
Taiwanese media and politicians, who had long stuck to the term “Team Chunghwa,” have increasingly used “Team Taiwan” in English and Chinese, an important marker of public support. Even Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians, who have long preferred the “Republic of China” or “Chunghwa” in the international area, have embraced “Team Taiwan.”
The Premier12 has shown that when Taiwanese show up, they can make their voices heard. Taiwanese supporters should continue to vigorously contest all instances of “Chinese Taipei.” China barely exists in the arena of international baseball, so how can it be that Taiwan is still forced to use “Chinese Taipei”?
Taiwanese should utilize the language and advocacy tools of racial justice to hold international media and other organizations to account for discrimination against Taiwanese identity. Athletes should build on the examples set by Chen and Pan Chieh-kai (潘傑楷) to engage in even more ostentatious acts of protest to bring attention to the issue.
This campaign must not be swept away with the ticker tape once the parade is over: Taiwan’s opponent in this fight is relentless and does not go home after nine innings. Around the world, Chinese officials, diplomats and businesspeople work in a coordinated manner to contest any mention of Taiwan. To counter them, Taiwanese must engage in an “everything, everywhere, all at once” campaign, continuously contesting each and every instance of “Chinese Taipei,” and not relenting until Taiwan is allowed to be Taiwan.
Sasha B. Chhabra is an analyst, commentator and media consultant on China’s foreign policy, Taiwanese politics and cross-strait affairs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hypersonic missile carried a simple message to the West over Ukraine: Back off, and if you do not, Russia reserves the right to hit US and British military facilities. Russia fired a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile known as “Oreshnik,” or Hazel Tree, at Ukraine on Thursday in what Putin said was a direct response to strikes on Russia by Ukrainian forces with US and British missiles. In a special statement from the Kremlin just after 8pm in Moscow that day, the Russian president said the war was escalating toward a global conflict, although he avoided any nuclear
Would China attack Taiwan during the American lame duck period? For months, there have been worries that Beijing would seek to take advantage of an American president slowed by age and a potentially chaotic transition to make a move on Taiwan. In the wake of an American election that ended without drama, that far-fetched scenario will likely prove purely hypothetical. But there is a crisis brewing elsewhere in Asia — one with which US president-elect Donald Trump may have to deal during his first days in office. Tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea have been at
US President-elect Donald Trump has been declaring his personnel picks for his incoming Cabinet. Many are staunchly opposed to China. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Trump’s nomination to be his next secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said that since 2000, China has had a long-term plan to destroy the US. US Representative Mike Waltz, nominated by Trump to be national security adviser, has stated that the US is engaged in a cold war with China, and has criticized Canada as being weak on Beijing. Even more vocal and unequivocal than these two Cabinet picks is Trump’s nomination for
An article written by Uber Eats Taiwan general manager Chai Lee (李佳穎) published in the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) on Tuesday said that Uber Eats promises to engage in negotiations to create a “win-win” situation. The article asserted that Uber Eats’ acquisition of Foodpanda would bring about better results for Taiwan. The National Delivery Industrial Union (NDIU), a trade union for food couriers in Taiwan, would like to express its doubts about and dissatisfaction with Lee’s article — if Uber Eats truly has a clear plan, why has this so-called plan not been presented at relevant
RSS