Still Chinese Taipei

There are a number of topics I could've chosen for today's post.  We've got baseball season in full swing, and we've got an expansion team headed to the Stanley Cup Final, while the U.S. got bronze at the World Hockey Championships with a team that was significantly better than the Olympic team.  I haven't forgotten about the court ruling about sports wagering or the proposed NCAA basketball changes (did you see the ACC wants to expand the Tournament to 72 teams?), either.

But my topic du jour has to do with one of my specialties--the Olympics.  There's been plenty of Olympic news of late (mainly Russia remaining non-compliant on the anti-doping front).  The IOC also made a decision to not change something that has been a certain way for nearly 40 years.  They rejected a petition to change "Chinese Taipei" to "Taiwan."

The political status of Taiwan is long and complicated, which all stems from its relationship with mainland China.  The short version is that after the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the government that had been overthrown by the Communists reestablished itself on the island of Taiwan.  Taiwan's official name is "Republic of China," while China is the "People's Republic of China."  They're both recognized internationally as sovereign nations.

Taiwan has competed under several different names at the Olympics in its history, but has used the compromise name "Chinese Taipei" since 1984.  As a part of the agreement, they can't use their national flag or anthem, either, and a special Chinese Taipei Olympic flag was created.

"Chinese Taipei" has become Taiwan's de facto name in all international sports.  They were dominant in the Little League World Series for a little while...and referred to as "Chinese Taiwan."  Same thing at the World Baseball Classic, and it's their FIFA name, too.

Of course, if you were to look for "Chinese Taipei" on a map, you wouldn't find it.  The country technically does not exist, which was kind of the point when they came up with the compromise name.  But, even though the country's official designation is "Chinese Taipei," it's still commonly referred to as "Taiwan," and the athletes are "Taiwanese."

Because of this, and for some other reasons, I've long advocated for calling it Taiwan instead.  I certainly don't understand the extent of China-Taiwan relations, but it's important to note that the international community recognizes them as separate entities.  Taiwan is not considered a part of China like Hong Kong or Macau are.  And I think that if the government headquartered in Taipei were to officially change its country's name to "Republic of Taiwan," it likely wouldn't meet too much opposition worldwide (although China still considers Taiwan a rebel province, so I'm not sure Beijing would agree, which would likely nip the whole thing in the bud anyway).

However, at its Executive Board meeting earlier this month, the IOC refused to consider a name change from "Chinese Taipei" to "Taiwan."  It wasn't officially proposed, but there had been rumblings about a referendum seeking the change.  Since it didn't come from the government or the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, though, the IOC can't act on anything, a stance that they reaffirmed in a letter to the CTOC.  And, even if it had, considering IOC President Thomas Bach's opposition to such a move, it likely would have been rejected.

CK Wu, the IOC member from Chinese Taipei, took the news in stride.  He said that when an athlete performs well, they'll proudly say that they're from Taiwan.  However, since they signed the agreement in 1981, they had to respect the terms.  And, he pointed out, it's much more important for Taiwanese athletes to be able to compete than worrying about what the country is called.

He's right.  It's better to have "Chinese Taipei" there, even if they can't use their flag or anthem.  Although, I'd love to see them work out a new agreement that lets them be known as "Taiwan."  Because that would give them much more of an identity.  And it would give the Taiwanese people a much bigger sense of national pride.

It's not China.  Or Chinese Taipei (which isn't even a real thing).  It's Taiwan.  Hopefully, one day, we'll be allowed to call them that officially at an Olympics.  Just not in Tokyo.