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| The flag of 'Chinese Taipei' (Taiwan), left, is seen during the medal ceremony for the men's archery event at the Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo, Monday. The flag features a small white sun superimposed on a blue circle ― a symbol pulled from Taiwan's national flag ― and the five Olympic rings, encircled by a blue Asian plum blossom, on a white background. Yonhap |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Taiwan's official name at the Olympics has sparked heated discussions online after Koreans referred to the self-ruled island as "Taiwan," not "Chinese Taipei," when talking about the final of the men's archery event.
After Korea beat Taiwan 6-0, Monday, Korean netizens congratulated the self-governing island for winning the silver medal. Korea's broadcasters also introduced the opposing team as being from "Taiwan" instead of "Chinese Taipei."
The term, "Taiwanese players," trended on Twitter, with many people raising questions about why Taiwan's official flag was not displayed, nor its anthem played during the medal ceremony.
One individual tweeted, "It's really sad that Taiwanese athletes cannot use their national flag during the Olympics," while another commented, "They remind me of Sohn Kee-chung, Korea's gold medalist in the marathon during the 1936 Berlin Olympics."
Because Korea was under the colonial rule of the Japanese Empire, Sohn had participated as a member of the Japanese team under the Japanese name, Kitei Son.
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| A Taiwanese netizen's tweet that reads, "Everyone calls us Taiwan. When can we call ourselves Taiwan?" Screenshot from Twitter |
Taiwanese netizens thanked Korea for being a "good neighbor," underlining the warm ties between the two.
"Everyone calls us Taiwan. When can we call ourselves Taiwan?" a Taiwanese netizen tweeted. At the time of this writing, that post had been shared around 7,400 times and garnered more than 6,900 likes. Another person tweeted, "South Korea is really enthusiastic, and we are so touched. Go Taiwan!"
China doesn't recognize Taiwan as a country. Following a long political battle between the two counterparts over naming conventions, the self-governed island reluctantly agreed to participate in international events under the official name of "Chinese Taipei."
Since 1981, Taiwan has been representing itself as "Chinese Taipei" at international events and organizations, using a new emblem and flag in accordance with the Nagoya Resolution.
In 2018, Taiwan voted on a referendum to compete under "Taiwan" instead of "Chinese Taipei" in the Tokyo Olympics, but failed to meet the conditions for winning approval from more than 25 percent of all voters. Those who objected to the initiative, including the head of Taiwan's Olympic Committee, feared that changing the name officially to "Taiwan" could jeopardize its chances of competing in the games.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also warned that Taiwan could be expelled from the IOC and banned from the games if it continues to push for changing its official name to "Taiwan."
