Taiwan Kendo association probes kendo player said to have represented China

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) The Republic of China (Taiwan) Kendo Association is investigating a Taiwanese kendo practitioner after a local YouTuber alleged on Wednesday he represented China at the 2024 World Kendo Championship in Italy in early July.

According to a video uploaded by Potter King, a Taiwanese kendo practitioner identified as Su Yu-cheng (蘇郁程) was part of the Chinese team at the world championship held from July 4-7 in Milan, Italy.

Competitors had to provide an ID document proving their nationality, according to the rules of the tournament.

The Sports Administration said it has asked the association to look into Su's identity on Thursday while informing the International Kendo Federation, the organizer of the world championship, of the matter and checking under which nationality he competed.

Su should apparently be disqualified if he represented China as a Taiwanese national, the Sports Administration said, adding that it would resort to related laws should it be confirmed Su competed as a Chinese national.

Also on Thursday, Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), deputy head of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), cited the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area which says Taiwanese nationals may not have household registration in Mainland China or hold passports issued by Beijing.

"We will revoke his Taiwanese (Republic of China) nationality if he holds Chinese nationality," Liang said.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan-based kendo association said it has not heard of Su before and has no idea whether he is Taiwanese or not. The association has received the Sports Administration's notification and will respond after clarifying the matter.

In an interview video with the kendo practitioner uploaded by Excellence (卓越電子報) in November 2023 onto its YouTube channel, Su said he came from Taipei and that "I want to revive the kendo culture of the Chinese nation. I want to represent China's national team at the world championship."

Following the tournament, he also wrote in a Facebook post saying he and his teammates "have prepared for our same dream for six years."