Chinese Taipei

Olympic Flag of Chinese Taipei

Chinese Taipei ( Chinese 中華臺北 / 中华台北 , Pinyin Zhōnghuá Táiběi , English Chinese Taipei ) is a name constructed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Republic of China (Taiwan) , the capital of which is Taipei (Taipei) .

The name makes it easier for the Republic of China (Taiwan) to join international organizations and participate in international events. The background to this is the diplomatic pressure that the People's Republic of China is exerting on Taiwan and the international community because of the Taiwan conflict . The UN and its member countries except for 16 countries pursue the one-China policy , which means a non-recognition of Taiwan's independence.

The artificial and not freely chosen designation “Chinese Taipei” is unpopular in Taiwan itself and is perceived as a necessary evil, but also as discriminatory. In many media and newspapers, the use of the name is therefore avoided and replaced by the common name "Taiwan".

On November 24, 2018, voters in Taiwan voted in a referendum to keep the current name “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan”. A key argument of the opponents of the motion was that the IOC had made it clear that a change of name would not be accepted or would have a negative impact on Taiwan's participation in international competitions.

Origins

Flag of the Republic of China

The People's Republic of China does not recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as an independent state, but instead declares its territory as the Taiwan Province of the People's Republic. The People's Republic is trying to prevent Taiwan from using the name "Republic of China" because there is a conceptual overlap with the word "China" with the People's Republic. This endeavor is known as the “ one-China policy ”. In addition to the conceptual overlap, there was also a territorial overlap that established the Taiwan conflict .

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Republic of China was often demoted or excluded from international organizations after the People's Republic joined them. The republic refused to be referred to as "Taiwan, China" because the name implies that it is part of and ruled by the People's Republic. During this time, the dictatorial Kuomintang government also rejected the names "Taiwan" and "Formosa" because they were still striving to represent and rule all of China as the only legitimate government.

In November 1979, the IOC and all other international sports associations recognized the National Olympic Committee of Taiwan as the National Olympic Committee of Chinese Taipei ( 中華奧林匹克委員會 / 中华奥林匹克委员会 , Zhōnghuá Àolínpǐkè Wěiyuánhuì , dt. National Olympic Committee of Chinese Taipei). All sports teams or athletes from Taiwan compete under the name Chinese Taipei. The new flag has been used for all other Olympic Games since the 1984 Summer Olympics , as well as Paralympics , Deaflympics and other international events.

However, the flag is not always recognized as such. During the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville / France , the CBS used the flag of the Republic of China with the official "TPE" country code. In the 2004 Summer Olympics , the Australian Baseball Association featured the waving flag of the Republic of China on its website.

Translation compromise

Both sides - the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China - accepted the name "Chinese Taipei". This is only by the ambiguity of the adjective "Chinese" ( dt. Sino possible includes) which no political statement. The People's Republic translates the name as "Zhong guo Taipei" ( 中國臺北 / 中国台北 , Zhōngguó Táiběi ). Zhongguo is actually the name for the state of China , which implies that Taipei is part of China. In return, the republic translates the name as “Zhong hua Taipei” ( 中華臺北 / 中华台北 , Zhōnghuá Táiběi ), which means “Chinese” more in terms of ethnicity and culture, less than a state.

Consequences

The name "Chinese Taipei" is now also used in areas that are less politically influenced. Flight schedules from official websites such as Los Angeles Airport or San Francisco list Taiwan Taoyuan Airport as "Taipei, Chinese Taipei". The People's Republic has also induced other religious and social organizations such as the Lions Club to adapt the name "Chinese Taipei".

In 2000, the People's Republic managed to get the Miss Universe organization to rename "Miss Taiwan 2000" to "Miss Chinese Taipei 2000". Three years later in the Miss Universe election in Panama , Miss China and Miss Taiwan ran side by side for the first time, which prompted the People's Republic to prompt the renaming of Miss Taiwan back to Miss Chinese Taipei . The result was the famous picture of the weeping Szu-Yu Chen as Miss Chinese Taipei , who wore both ribbons as Miss Taiwan and Miss Chinese Taipei . Nowadays a Miss Universe or Miss World candidate from Taiwan is no longer allowed to compete with the tape "Taiwan". An exception was the Miss Earth election in 2005, when Li Fan Lin was allowed to run as Miss Taiwan. After a week of parade, her band was upgraded from "Taiwan" to "Taiwan ROC". There was no backlash from the People's Republic for this step.

The title “Chinese Taipei” suggests that “Taipei” is a country. To alleviate this confusion, some news outlets replaced the name “Chinese Taipei” with Taiwan when reports were about international organizations. At sporting events, the teams are presented as the Zhonghua Team ( 中華隊 / 中华队 , Zhōnghuá Duì ).

During the 2004 Summer Olympics, there was a movement in Taiwan to literally refer to the Taiwanese teams as such. The established television broadcaster Taiwan Television (TTV) was the first to do so since 2004. There are currently a number of cable television stations that serve Taiwanese teams as the Zhong hua team ( 中華隊 / 中华队 , Zhōnghuá Duì ) and Chinese teams as the Zhong guo team ( 中國隊 / 中国队 , Zhōngguó Duì ).

Contrary to the Taiwanese name, Chinese TV stations present the Taiwanese teams as "Zhongguo Taibei Team". ( 中國臺北隊 / 中国台北队 , Zhōngguó Táiběi Duì , English Chinese Taipei Team )

At the International Children's Games 2005, the National Geographic World Championship , the Major League Baseball and the World Baseball Classic 2006, the name 'Chinese Taipei' was used.

Other names for Taiwan

The United Nations called Taiwan officially always as " Taiwan, Province of China " (English. Taiwan, Province of China ), which some websites have adapted. Other organizations such as the World Trade Organization speak of " Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Jinmen and Mazu " (English. Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu ) or short " Chinese Taipei " as the official term is too bulky. As a founding member of the Asian Development Bank , the republic continued to operate as the " Republic of China " until the People's Republic joined in 1986. Giving in to pressure from the People's Republic, the name has now been changed to " Taipei, China ".

The World Scout Organization is one of the few organizations that continues to run the Republic of China as " China " and its members as Scouts of China , as the People's Republic has no scouts. Other old diplomatic allies continue to refer to the republic as China, such as the Vatican . At the funeral of John Paul II , Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian was seated as head of state of China alongside Marisa Letícia (wife of Brazilian President da Silva ) and Paul Biya (President of Cameroon ).