Wed, Oct 04, 2023 page7

• Taiwanese unfazed by flag at Asian Games

  • AP, SHAOXING, China
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  Taiwan’s baseball team yesterday took the field sporting caps and jerseys not with “T” for Taiwan, but “CT,” for Chinese Taipei.

  Under a decades-old agreement between Taipei and Beijing, Taiwanese teams can only compete internationally if they do not use the name — or flag — of Taiwan.

  Opposing them on the new field in Shaoxing was Hong Kong, representing what Beijing hopes is Taiwan’s future — a team playing under its own regional flag, with its own athletes, but as a part of China.

  

  Taiwan’s Kan Chia-wei of Taiwan celebrates after defeating Turkmenistan’s Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov during their men’s 63.5-71kg semi-final boxing match at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, yesterday.

  Photo: AP

  At the Asian Games, China has been going out of its way to be welcoming to Taiwanese athletes, as it pursues a two-pronged strategy with the goal of taking over its neighbor, which involves wooing its people while threatening it militarily.

  Unlike the Beijing Winter Olympics last year when Taiwan only sent four athletes, more than 500 are competing at the Asian Games, providing China a golden opportunity to put on a welcoming face not only for the competitors, but for their fans watching from home in Taiwan.

  At the opening ceremony in Hangzhou, the Taiwanese delegation got one of the largest cheers from the crowd, with the local broadcaster making sure to cut to show Chinese President Xi Jinping clapping for the team as it was introduced.

  

  Taiwan’s Yang Chen-yu bats during their game against Hong Kong at the Asian Games in Shaoxing, China, yesterday.

  Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee via CNA

  In events where Taiwan wins, the broadcasts regularly pan to Chinese fans in the stands cheering for them, while waving Chinese flags.

  After dominating Hong Kong 15-0 yesterday, many fans stayed behind to get Taiwanese players to sign baseballs and caps, and the players say they do not worry too much about the wider political situation.

  “I came to join the games, and did not think too much” about it, said Lin Tzu-wei, a Taiwanese left fielder who played with the Boston Red Sox and briefly with the Minnesota Twins before returning home.

  “I come here for the games — that’s it,” he said.

  That they have to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” is nothing new for the Taiwanese. Its team used the same name at the World Baseball Classic earlier this year, which it hosted along with Japan and the US.

  Taiwanese officials with the delegation in Hangzhou refused to comment on the flag, saying that their focus was on the performance of their athletes.

  China has strayed in the past few years from the agreement to call Taiwan “Chinese Taipei” at international sporting events. Official Chinese media now call it “China Taipei” — suggesting it is part of China — instead of “Chinese Taipei,” which implies more of an ethnic or cultural similarity.

  The issue came up last year, when Olympics officials in Taiwan announced they would skip the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Games. They cited travel issues and COVID-19 concerns, but their announcement came shortly after a Chinese official had called the Taiwanese team “China Taipei.”

  Taiwan reversed the decision at the last minute, saying they were pressured to attend the ceremony by the International Olympic Committee.

  At the Asian Games, Hong Kong sends its own athletes who compete separately from China. Similarly, Macao sends its own athletes and competes under its regional flag.

  Taiwan’s afternoon game yesterday against Hong Kong followed a Monday night game against tough opponent South Korea, which Taiwan won 4-0, but the players showed little fatigue.

  They put up two quick runs in the first and never looked back, in blanking Hong Kong, while giving up only one hit.

  For manager Wu Shih-hsih, a former infielder who was part of the Taiwan team that won silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the trip to China is just about baseball, and he is setting his sights on a gold medal for his team.

  “Sports is sports, politics is politics,” he said after Sunday’s 12-1 win against Thailand. “We are here for the sports.”
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