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Beyond “Chinese Taipei”: How International Allies Can Support Taiwan through Sports Diplomacy | Global Taiwan Institute

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Beyond “Chinese Taipei”: How International Allies Can Support Taiwan through Sports Diplomacy | Global Taiwan Institute

For a country like Taiwan that constantly struggles with how to project its narrative of national identity and brand on an international stage, the Olympics are a missed opportunity. As many have noted, using “Chinese Taipei” (中華台北) to refer to the Taiwanese Olympic team creates confusion about Taiwan’s current status and national identity. Moreover, the English translation of the name creates further confusion among international audiences by obscuring whether the usage of “Chinese” refers to an ethnic or national/sovereign connection between China and Taiwan. Although many supporters of Taiwan advocated for updating the team name, past experiences have shown that this is unlikely to be allowed by China or the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC’s unforgiving stance has been further emphasized during the Paris Olympics by the decision to bodily remove spectators carrying Taiwan banners, including one spectator who was referencing a meme from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Still, in the absence of a name change, there are still other ways that Taiwan can use the Olympics specifically, and sports diplomacy more generally, to further its international ties and to be identified under the name of “Taiwan.”

Taiwanese Representation at the Olympics

Like many of Taiwan’s current problems related to participation in international organizations, the name “Chinese Taipei” came about after Taiwan’s exit from the United Nations. After the United Nations recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole representative of China, Taiwan was barred from competing as the Republic of China (ROC) by Canada, and the ROC government decided to withdraw from the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. Although the IOC suggested that the ROC team compete under the name of Taiwan at that time, the Kuomintang-led (KMT, 國民黨) government refused to accept the name of Taiwan. Tasked with reaching a compromise, the IOC brokered the Nagoya Resolution, which allowed Taiwan to compete in the Olympics under the name of “Chinese Taipei.”

As Taiwanese identity solidifies in Taiwan, many people in Taiwan have become dissatisfied with their country’s athletes competing under the name of “Chinese Taipei” and in 2018 the Taiwanese government held a referendum to decide if they should change the name. Still, the referendum was doomed to fail before the vote even began—ahead of the vote, the IOC stated that a name change could “threaten Taiwan’s participation in future Olympic Games” and that the Nagoya Resolution “remains unchanged and fully applicable.” Predictably, Taiwanese voters decided that participation in the Olympics under the name of “Chinese Taipei” was better than not participating at all, and the referendum failed with a slim majority of 54.8 percent deciding against the name change.

Cultural Olympiad

Despite the IOC’s firm stance on the name of Chinese Taipei, Taiwan has been able to use the name of Taiwan in other Olympic-related events, such as the Cultural Olympiad. After first participating in the Cultural Olympiad at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Taiwan is now participating in Paris’ 2024 Cultural Olympiad by holding the Taiwan Pavilion from July 27 to August 10.

While the Olympic Games are famous for its many sporting events, the accompanying events of the Cultural Olympiad are not as well-known. One reason for this might be that the Cultural Olympiad has changed throughout the history of the Olympics. From 1896 to 1908, the Cultural Olympiad was not enforced as part of the Olympics. Then, from 1912 to 1948, it took the form of an art competition, and from 1952 to 1988, it was an art exhibition. The Cultural Olympiad’s current form—which exists as a “multidisciplinary artistic and cultural programme“—started from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The 2024 Paris Olympics website describes its Cultural Olympiad as a “people’s festival featuring thousands of events (mostly free and open to the public) at the crossroads of art, sport and Olympic values.”

Free and open to the public, Taiwan’s 2024 Taiwan Pavilion features 22 performance groups, including a performance by recent RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅瘋), and highlights four main themes: “Voice of Freedom,” “Island Elegance,” “Cultural Exchanges Between,” and “Taiwan and France.” According to the Taiwan Pavilion website, roughly 4,000 spectators attended the opening of the event, and attendees were given gift bags of Taiwanese snacks and souvenirs. Compared to the millions of people who watch the Olympics worldwide—even just the opening ceremony of the Olympics was watched by 29 million people—an audience of thousands can seem like a poor consolation prize. However, Taiwan’s participation at the Paris’ 2024 Cultural Olympiad still serves as an important platform to promote some of Taiwan’s most important soft power resources to international attendees, including its commitment to democratic values, “identity tolerance,” and “desire to work hand-in-hand with the other nations of the world.” Moreover, Taiwan’s participation in an Olympic-related event using the name “Taiwan” seems to contradict the IOC’s strict rules enforcing the use of “Chinese Taipei.” This demonstrates the extent to which hosting countries can support Taiwan’s participation in events that are held alongside the Olympics despite the IOC’s firm stance against a potential name change.

Image: Participants at Taiwan’s 2024 Taiwan Pavilion watch Taiwanese indigenous singer Abao (阿爆) perform on the first day of the event. (Image Source: Taiwan Pavilion Website)

Support from US Government Officials

Just as hosting countries can help support Taiwan’s participation, other allies can also help by putting pressure on the IOC to accept any future Taiwanese decisions regarding a name change. Ahead of this year’s Olympic Games, three US congressmen—Tom Tiffany (R-WI), Andy Ogles (R-TN), and Chris Smith (R-NJ)—sent a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach criticizing the IOC’s enforcement of the name “Chinese Taipei,” stating that it “violates the core tenets of the Olympic Charter, which declares that ‘[e]very individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination’ and that ‘the Olympic Movement shall apply political neutrality.’” While a decision regarding the name of Taiwan’s Olympic team should be made by Taiwanese voters, this decision should also be made without threats by the IOC. If the current situation is due to the PRC exerting pressure on the IOC, then the United States could tip the scales in the other direction by taking a strong stance against such tactics, and this would be in line with the 2019 Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act. Additionally, there are other supportive actions that the United States can take on Taiwan’s behalf that are less drastic—such as using the Taiwan Allies Fund Act to support media coverage of the Olympics that refers to the Taiwanese Olympic team as “Taiwan,” as Sasha Chhabra has recommended in a recent op-ed.

Alternate Sports Diplomacy Opportunities

Hosting International Sporting Events

While the Olympic Games are undoubtedly the biggest international sporting event, there are still other opportunities outside of the Olympics for Taiwan to engage in sports diplomacy. For instance, hosting an international sporting event allows host countries/cities to “project a positive image of themselves in order to increase credibility and status on the world’s stage.” Since 2000, Taiwan has hosted eight international multi-sport events (IMSE) including the 29th Summer Universiade in 2017. While many of these sporting events run into problems similar to those of the Olympics, with Taiwan still being referred to as “Chinese Taipei,” Taiwan’s role as the host country still allows international athletes to visit and learn about Taiwan from Taiwan itself. 

The next IMSE that Taiwan plans on hosting is the 2025 World Masters Games. Brokered by then-Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and then-New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the 2025 event marks the first World Masters Game in Asia, with Taipei beating out both Paris and Perth for the hosting rights. Taiwan’s ability to be chosen as a hosting country demonstrates that the International Masters Games Association (IMGA) considers Taipei and New Taipei City to have the necessary infrastructure and be attractive tourism destinations; moreover, the IMGA is a non-profit organization recognized by the IOC. Beyond this recognition, the event itself is also an opportunity for Taiwan to become known by thousands of World Masters Games athletes and family members. Throughout the 14-day event, roughly 48,000 athletes from 110 countries are expected to visit Taipei and New Taipei City to participate in the games. Additionally, the games are expected to bring in NTD $10 billion (USD $305 million) in tourism revenue. Like the Taiwan Pavilion event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the number of participants is far fewer than viewers of the Olympics, but the event is still an important opportunity for Taiwan to promote itself on its own terms while using the name Taiwan.

Taiwan Day

In addition to hosting opportunities, allies of Taiwan can also provide opportunities for Taiwan to promote itself during sporting events by supporting events within their own countries that use the name of “Taiwan.” One example of this is the New York Mets’ Taiwan Day, which has taken place annually since 2005 and is the “longest-running and largest Taiwan-themed event in any of the four major professional sports leagues” in the United States. Originally born out of the desire to involve different communities in the New York Mets’ games, some other theme nights have included: Black Legacy, Filipino Heritage, Women’s Equality and Chinese Heritage. Moreover, Taiwan Day has spread to other teams, with the Oakland Athletics, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Los Angeles Dodgers also holding Taiwanese heritage days. With the aim of establishing an annual Taiwan Day in Washington, DC, a Pre-Tawan Day was also held this year in Nationals Park for the first time. Beyond being events that bring Taiwanese American communities together, these Taiwan Day events are also opportunities for US citizens to learn about Taiwan.

Image: Taiwanese Americans wearing Taiwan jerseys at Pre-Taiwan Day, held in Washington, DC.

Image: Taiwanese Americans wearing Taiwan jerseys at Pre-Taiwan Day, held in Washington, DC. (Image source: Overseas Community Affairs Council [中華民國僑務委員會])

US-Taiwan Sports Diplomacy

Another opportunity for the United States and Taiwan to strengthen people-to-people ties through sports are sports diplomacy programs under the US Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. On May 5-6, 2023, the Taiwan Sport Forward Association (TSFA, 社團法人台灣運動好事協會) partnered with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), and the US Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP), jointly held a forum discussing sports diplomacy, gender in sports, sports education, and sports media and gender equality. When then-President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended the forum, she praised Taiwan’s advancements in gender equality and acknowledged that Taiwan still needs to make progress in women’s sports broadcasting and the representation of women in sports media. Continuing to deepen cooperation between the United States and Taiwan on sports diplomacy programs can push forward mutual goals—such as empowering women in sports—and also provides opportunities for influential US figures in sports to visit Taiwan and better understand the challenges that Taiwanese athletes face when it comes to international representation.

Recommendations

The United States and other allies of Taiwan should:

  • Take a firm stance against any actions taken by the IOC to influence Taiwanese voters, and reassert that the IOC should respect any decisions that Taiwan makes regarding the name of its Olympic team.
  • Continue to support Taiwan’s participation using the name “Taiwan” in Olympic-related events such as the Cultural Olympiad.
  • Support Taiwan in making bids to host international sporting events under the name of “Taiwan.”
  • Support sporting events that take place within their own country that use the term “Taiwan,” such as the Taiwan Day and Pre-Taiwan Day events held in the United States.
  • Continue to deepen cooperation with Taiwan through sports diplomacy programs.

 

The main point: The current name of “Chinese Taipei” continues to cause confusion over Taiwan’s national identity and sovereign status. However, in lieu of changing the name, other opportunities can be pursued as “Taiwan”. These include leveraging cultural events at the Olympics, allowing Taiwan to host sporting events using the name Taiwan, holding local heritage days, and bolstering US-Taiwan collaboration on sport diplomacy programs.

The author of this piece would like to thank Ya-Hui Chiu Summer Fellow Jonathan Harman for his research assistance.

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