FEATURE/Documentary tells story behind Taiwan's 'Chinese Taipei' Olympic name

By Sunny Lai, CNA staff reporter

Unlike most countries, Taiwan cannot use its country's name to compete in the Olympic Games or other major international sports events.

Instead, it participates under the moniker "Chinese Taipei," a name that both causes confusion and sparks curiosity among many people, including an American director who explored the topic in his new documentary.

"Every time I hear somebody say 'Chinese Taipei,' it always makes me pause," said Garret Clarke, the director of the 20-minute documentary "What's in a Name? A Chinese Taipei Story," in the film's opening scene.

Clarke told CNA that he was motivated to make the documentary because he finds the name "Chinese Taipei" to be "weird."

In the documentary, now available on the media platform TaiwanPlus, Clarke looks into the origins of "Chinese Taipei" and explores how Taiwanese people feel about it.

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Look back in time

The dispute that eventually created the name dates back to the Chinese Civil War, which resulted in the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) by the Chinese Communist Party on Oct. 1, 1949, and the retreat of the Republic of China (ROC) government to Taiwan.

With both claiming to represent China, the PRC and the ROC posed a challenge for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which initially recognized the ROC, as did most of the international community.

In 1952, the IOC allowed both the PRC and the ROC to participate in the Helsinki Olympics, but the ROC rejected this dual recognition and withdrew its team's participation, enabling the PRC to compete in the Olympics for the first time.

Four years later in Melbourne, the PRC and ROC (participating under the name "Formosa-China") both sent delegations, but the PRC later withdrew in protest over the ROC flag being raised in the Olympic Village.

Team ROC to Team Chinese Taipei

The PRC stayed away from the Olympics throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, enabling the ROC to compete under the names of "Formosa" in 1960, "Taiwan" in 1964 and 1968, and "Republic of China" in 1972.

During that era, the Kuomintang (KMT) leaders of the ROC wanted the national Olympic team to compete under the "Republic of China" name to get international backing for the ROC's legitimacy, according to the documentary. For the KMT, this was especially important after the United Nations recognized the PRC and expelled the ROC in 1971.

In 1976, when the ROC delegation was asked to join the Olympic Games under the name "Taiwan" instead of "Republic of China," it refused to change its name and withdrew from the games in Canada, which broke diplomatic relations with the ROC and established ties with the PRC in 1970.

The IOC executive committee then passed the "Nagoya Resolution" in 1979, which both the PRC and the ROC governments ultimately agreed to follow.

The resolution recognized the PRC's Olympic Committee as the "Chinese Olympic Committee" and the ROC's Olympic Committee as the "Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee."

After missing again from the Moscow Olympics in 1980, Taiwan was allowed to compete starting from the 1984 Olympic Games under an agreement with the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1981.

The "Lausanne agreement" -- viewed by some as a compromise by Taiwan -- required Taiwan's team to compete under the name "Chinese Taipei," use a non-political flag, and not play the ROC national anthem.

Thoughts on 'Chinese Taipei'

In his documentary, Clarke included interviews with experts, a former Taiwanese athlete, and members of the general public to capture diverse perspectives on the name "Chinese Taipei."

"Taiwanese wish we could have our own country's name to show at sports events," said one of more than 20 Taiwanese interviewed in Taipei in January.

If Taiwanese athletes could participate in sports events under the name "Taiwan," it would signify that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country, she said, adding "of course, over there in China, they'd never let this happen."

Another person said of the existing situation that Taiwan has been suppressed on the international stage and therefore has had to "succumb to these conditions."

None of those interviewed liked the name "Chinese Taipei," but the majority understood the complications behind the name itself, as well as China's pressure, according to Clarke.

China is adamantly opposed to the Taiwanese team renaming itself "Team Taiwan" because it is against any symbol or action that would suggest Taiwan is an independent state.

Team Taiwan?

Though the Chinese Taipei name is not popular, when Taiwanese had a chance in 2018 to vote to compete in the Tokyo Olympics and all international sporting events under the name "Taiwan" instead of "Chinese Taipei," they rejected the idea by a 55-45 percent margin.

Many reasons led to the referendum result, said Chris Horton, a Taiwan-based independent journalist. "Most people didn't want to rock the boat and find out that now we can't compete in the Olympics," he added.

Echoing Horton's remarks, Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎), the first male athlete from Taiwan to win an Olympic gold medal (in 2004), said the Taiwanese delegation could not have easily changed or given up the name "Chinese Taipei," as the IOC would have seen it as a violation of its rules.

"If we couldn't participate, what would happen to the athletes? They all work so hard," said Chu, citing an incident where a Taiwanese delegation was sent home from an international competition after one of its athletes took out the ROC flag and ran a lap around the stadium after winning.

"If we changed the name but we couldn't participate (in the Olympic Games), then the name has no meaning," the former taekwondo athlete said.

All started with a 'weird' feeling

The documentary all started because of a "weird" feeling Clarke had toward the name "Chinese Taipei."

"I'm American...If somebody forced you to say that you're not American, there's no way," the 41-year-old director said, noting that Americans have been taught since childhood that a person's identity is of utmost importance.

Having lived in Taiwan for 18 years, Clarke said he wanted to help people understand that China's soft-power influence on Taiwan persists, including the issues surrounding the name "Chinese Taipei" in the Olympics.

It is also easier to illustrate the "nonsense that Taiwan has to put up with" by extending the discussion to sports, a topic that most people find more engaging than politics and history, he added.

China uses its significant influence over the U.N. and the IOC to impose its authoritarianism on a free country, with the naming of "Chinese Taipei" as a clear example, which everyone who supports democracy and freedom should oppose, Clarke said.

With this year's Paris Olympics set to kick off on Friday, Clarke hopes that when sports fans are intrigued by the name "Chinese Taipei" when Taiwanese athletes compete, they can "Google it and find this video as the answer."

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