Let Taiwan Be Taiwan at the Olympic Games

Taiwanese athletes win gold medal against unfair treatment and peculiar status in Paris Olympic Games 

Taiwanese badminton pair Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin won Taiwan’s first gold medal of the Paris Olympics on August 4 when they outplayed top-seeded Chinese opponents to retain their badminton men’s doubles title. 

At the medal ceremony, instead of its national flag and national anthem, the flag of the Taiwan Olympic Committee was raised and the country’s national flag song was played. Sport fans from all over the world must be intrigued and puzzled by the name "Chinese Taipei,” that Taiwan is called, and why its national anthem and national flag were both absent in the Games.

Taiwan competes under the peculiar name “Chinese Taipei” imposed by China

Unlike most countries, Taiwan cannot use its country's name — Republic of China (Taiwan), to compete in the Olympic Games or other major international sports events. Rather, Taiwan participates under “Chinese Taipei," a Chinese politically-motivated-and-fabricated identity Taiwan is compelled to accept for its global standing and its participation in the IOC’s meetings, activities and sporting events. The name “Chinese Taipei” has caused confusion and sparked misconception in the international community. 

The origin of this most poisonous adoption of Taiwan’s name stemmed from “The Lausanne Agreement,” adopted at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Switzerland in 1981, requiring Taiwan's sport teams to compete under the name "Chinese Taipei," use a non-national flag, and not play the national anthem. The name was firstly used when Taiwan competed at the Sarajevo Winter Games in 1984. This politically manipulated nomenclature has since then spilled over into multilateral organizations and functional international bodies in the domains of economy, trade, legal, fishery, and animal health, such as World Trade Organization (WTO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).  

This year, Taiwan’s delegation competes in 16 sports in the Olympics. The team comprises 60 athletes, along with coaches, medical teams, and administrative staff, totaling 144 members. The unfair and peculiar treatments extended to Taiwan go beyond the competitions throughout the Games, Taiwanese supporters attending the games, unreasonably treated by the IOC, were also ordered to rub off face-painted national flag signs and had national flags and banners forcefully confiscated by security staff. Some Taiwanese fans watching the badminton men’s doubles semifinal won by the pair Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin had items bearing the word “Taiwan” confiscated by staff and a fellow spectator.  

The Olympic Games used as a tool by authoritarian regimes to bully and suppress

Over the last four decades, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has transformed itself from an authoritarian regime to a full-fledged democracy and dynamic economy. But at the same time, its international recognition as an independent country has dwindled due to China’s intensifying political oppression, diplomatic repression, and military intimidation. These tensions have been fully projected onto the Olympic arena since 1981 onwards until nowadays. China uses its significant influence over the United Nations and the IOC to impose its authoritarianism on a free country, to bully democratic Taiwan with the naming of "Chinese Taipei" as a clear example, which everyone who supports democracy and freedom should oppose.

The Olympic Games is a long-standing tradition based on the values of sportsmanship, excellency, tolerance, friendship, and peace. To this day the Games present themselves to be a non-political festivity in the spirit of humanity, free from discrimination. However, it has also long been used as a political tool by China and other authoritarian regimes to exercise influence and manipulate to gain political interest while repressing others.

During the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, the New Yorker Times referred to Taiwan’s team as Taiwan, and the announcer for Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, famously proclaimed “this is Taiwan” when “Chinese Taipei” entered the arena. This angered the Chinese government on Japan’s shift away from the “One China” policy, and the New Yorker Times’s phrasing. 

As a result of China’s continued political pressure and heavy-handed interference, unfortunately 60 Taiwanese athletes participating in the Paris Olympics, are once again not competing under the name and the national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan), instead the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag is flown and the national flag song played. 

Taiwan’s status in the Olympic Games violates the Olympism and Olympic Charter  

As a nonsensical term, “Chinese Taipei” used by its 23.5 million people on the island, neither refers to any real geographical location or political reality, nor accurately reflects the identity of Taiwan team. This is not just unfair; it violates the core tenets of the Olympic Charter. The Charter states: “Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind,” and “sports organizations within the Olympic Movement shall have the rights and obligations of autonomy, which include freely establishing and controlling the rules of sport, free from any outside influence “

Even as overseas territories, Puerto Rico and Bermuda are not forced to compete as “American San Juan” or “British Hamilton.” While trying to stem the continued political turbulence caused by the PRC, Taiwan’s wholehearted embrace of the Olympic values and proactive participation in the Games is a compelling story of perseverance, resilience, and sporting excellence of the island nation. It is ironic and ridiculous that Taiwan has been pressured to participate under the name “Chinese Taipei,” as Taiwan has never been under the control of the People’s Republic of China, or part of its territory for even a single day.

Nowadays, Taiwan is barred from participating in most of the international organizations, in particular the UN and its special agencies, simply based on biased narratives and false statements created by China. It is very unfortunate that, IOC, as a non-governmental sports organization responsible for promoting Olympism, and to strengthen the unity, independence, political neutrality, and autonomy of the Olympic Movement, has succumbed to China’s pressure and coercion,  

The IOC should drop the name “Chinese Taipei” and let Taiwan be Taiwan 

We earnestly urge the international community to support the values of democracy and freedom by opposing China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty and independent statehood through the imposing of the name “Chinese Taipei,” and call for the IOC to drop the name and let Taiwan be Taiwan and choose its own name, flag, and anthem in the Games, in accordance with the Olympism and the Olympic Charter. 

While the situation in the world is full of uncertainty, it is all the more necessary for everyone to work together to protect and strengthen the common values of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of laws.  As a vibrant democracy, the 21st largest economy in the world, a dominant power in semiconductor industry and global supply chains, the global community, especially all democratic countries should give Taiwan the status it deserves which is equal footing with other nations in the world. To eliminate the undue use of the name “Chinese Taipei” under the IOC umbrella is the first step in the right direction.