Taiwan urges China not to politicize sports after Taiwanese paddler wore red scarf

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has called on Chinese authorities not to use sports exchanges for united front propaganda, after Taiwanese table tennis player Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) appeared at an event in China recently wearing a red scarf linked to the Chinese Young Pioneers.

On Thursday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said MAC officials believe that Lin was "arranged" to participate in the pre-game event.

"We believe this was an attempt by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to use the incident for united front propaganda," he said at a regular news briefing in Taipei.

Lin was "unknowingly" made to wear a red scarf typically worn by Chinese elementary students and was "manipulated" into singing a united front-themed song with others during a pre-game event in the Chinese province of Shandong, the MAC said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The participation of Lin -- Taiwan's top-ranked male paddler -- was "deliberately publicized" by Chinese authorities, the MAC said.

It added that cross-strait professional exchanges should not involve political or united front arrangements.

"However, the CCP often uses various exchange occasions to carry out united front propaganda, undermining the original intent of such exchanges -- an approach that does nothing to improve cross-strait interaction," the council added.

The MAC's response came after photos and videos of Lin wearing a red scarf and interacting with elementary school students in China circulated online and drew public attention on Wednesday.

The red scarf is a symbol of membership in the Chinese Young Pioneers, a national mass organization for children in China operated under the CCP-led Communist Youth League of China.

In a video posted on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo on Wednesday, Lin was seen holding hands with students, who were all wearing red scarves and singing the song "I Love You, China."

Lin's teammates at the Shandong Weiqiao Table Tennis Club, including Olympic gold medalist Wang Chuqin (王楚欽), were also seen wearing red scarves at the same event. The Shandong club won the men's team title in last year's Chinese Table Tennis Super League, with Lin as part of the championship squad.

Article 33-1 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area prohibits Taiwanese to engage in "any form of cooperative activity with the agencies, institutions, or organizations of the Mainland Area which are political parties, the military, the administration or of any political nature."

While it remains unclear whether Lin will be investigated or penalized under Article 33-1 for his participation in the event, a report by Chinese-language news outlet ETtoday on Wednesday cited an unnamed official as saying that Lin had been pushed into the situation without prior knowledge.

The report cited the official saying that Lin had sensed something was inappropriate at the scene and voiced his concerns.

In response to the incident, Lin's agent told the Chinese-language newspaper Liberty Times on Wednesday that Lin went to Shandong solely to compete and had no other purpose, adding that he would stay focused on the competition.

"It was simply a decision to accept the competition invitation," the agent added.