FAPA Initiates a Joint Letter to the IOC, Urging to Let Taiwan Be “Taiwan” at the Olympics
On August 9, a joint letter led by the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow Taiwan’s team to compete under the name “Taiwan” rather than the discriminatory misnomer “Chinese Taipei,” and also stop infringing on spectators’ freedom of speech and allow them to display Taiwan signage at the Olympic Games.
The letter, addressed to IOC President Thomas Bach and members of the IOC Executive Board, was led by FAPA, along with 23 other overseas Taiwanese organizations from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, Argentina, and Costa Rica.
“Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country,” which is a long-established “status quo,” FAPA President Su-Mei Kao said in a press release, arguing that Taiwan’s Olympic team is “fully entitled to compete proudly under the name ‘Taiwan.’”
“The IOC, in blatant disregard for the principles of ‘non-discrimination’ and ‘political neutrality’ enshrined in the Olympic Charter, has forced Taiwan’s team to use the derogatory name ‘Chinese Taipei,’ which undermines Taiwan’s independent statehood and national dignity,” she said.
The FAPA president criticized China as being behind the name issue, as it continues to bully Taiwan and exert political pressure on the IOC.
In the joint letter, we pointed out that “[for] four decades since 1984, capitulating to the political pressure from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the IOC has unjustly forced Taiwan to participate in the Olympics under the name ‘Chinese Taipei’ and prohibit the display of its national flag and the playing of its national anthem during the games.”
The letter criticized that these “unfair practices” contravene the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter that “every individual must have access to the practice of sport, without discrimination,” and that “sports organisations within the Olympic Movement shall apply political neutrality.”
The letter also mentioned that the IOC’s “unfair Taiwan-specific restrictions” have been extended to fans supporting “Taiwan.” During the 2024 Paris Olympics, signs or items that have the word “Taiwan” on them, or include a semblance of Taiwan, were “unreasonably prohibited” and “forcefully snatched” away by Olympic security staff or Chinese spectators. Some spectators holding signage in support of “Taiwan” have even been forcibly ejected from the Olympic venues.
FAPA and other co-signatory organizations strongly condemned “these violent acts,” which were against “the Olympic spirit and principles set forth in the Olympic Charter” and “infringed on the freedom of speech of Taiwanese spectators at the Olympics to rightfully express support for the athletes from their country, ‘Taiwan.’”
We called on IOC President Bach and the full IOC Executive Board “not to succumb to China’s political pressure and immediately stop its discriminatory requirement for athletes from Taiwan to compete under the fictitious name ‘Chinese Taipei,’ which falsely implies that Taiwan is part of China (PRC), even though Taiwan has never been ruled by the PRC for a single day.”
We also urged the international community “to support democracy and freedom by opposing authoritarian China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty and independent statehood through the forcible imposition of the humiliating name ‘Chinese Taipei’ on Taiwan.”
At the end of the letter, we urged Bach and other Olympic officials to “resist China’s political bullying against Taiwan” and eradicate “all discriminatory and unfair restraints” imposed on Taiwan’s athletes and supporters.
We called on the IOC “to live up to the ideals and principles of the Olympic Charter, allow Taiwan to proudly compete under its name, ‘Taiwan,’ and use the national flag and anthem that can truly represent Taiwan.”
References:
[1] FAPA
[2] Focus Taiwan
[3] Taipei Times
Visiting U.S. Lawmaker Stresses Deterrence to Combat Chinese Aggression
Visiting U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), a member of the House Committee on Armed Services, underscored the importance of deterrence in preventing potential Chinese aggression during a meeting with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te in Taipei on August 13.
As ties between Taiwan and the U.S. have in part “evolved because of potential aggression” from the other side of the Taiwan Strait, “we want to deter anything that will come across the Strait and create a situation where we have to get involved in a conflict,” she said.
“That is not what we want to do,” Strickland said, describing deterrence as being about “projecting strength, power and unity.”
Democratic countries should “stand together” and continue to promote freedom and democracy, especially with “adversaries” around the world seeking to “destabilize democracy” by spreading disinformation and meddling with elections, she said.
Strickland, who is leading a delegation of Democrats from the House of Representatives, arrived in Taiwan on August 11 and will leave on August 15.
She was accompanied at the meeting by three other U.S. House members, Julia Brownley (D-CA), Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), as well as their aides.
Strickland also lauded the shared values and partnership between Taiwan and the U.S., and said members of the delegation were “steadfast and resolute in our support for Taiwan.”
In his remarks, President Lai reaffirmed his government’s commitment to continue bolstering Taiwan’s defense capabilities through promoting military reforms and increasing spending.
“Security across the Taiwan Strait is crucial to global stability and prosperity,” Lai said. “As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will neither yield nor provoke as we seek to maintain the status quo.”
Taiwan also looked forward to collaborating with the U.S. and other partners to promote peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific in the face of authoritarian expansionism, Lai added.