Avert the Imminent Crisis Surrounding Plebiscite on Changing Designation from Chinese Taipei to Taiwan in 2020 Olympics

  Avert the Imminent Crisis Surrounding Plebiscite on Changing Designation from Chinese Taipei to Taiwan in 2020 Olympics

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

November 9, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

Lin Hong-dow, president of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC), is deeply worried whether Taiwan can smoothly participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He issued a caveat during a meeting of the "Sports Development Committee" under the Cabinet, saying that the International Olympics Committee (IOC) had indicated several times its bewilderment over Taiwan's obstinacy in holding a plebiscite on changing of its designation of CTOC from Chinese Taipei to Taiwan in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, believing that this is utilizing the issue of the Olympic Games to engage in political maneuverings, contravening the provisions of Article 27 of the Olympic Charter, i.e., “NOCs must preserve their autonomy and resist all pressures of any kind, including but not limited to political, legal, religious or economic pressures which may prevent them from complying with the Olympic Charter. " Lin is worried that Taiwan may thus be deprived of its membership or have its rights suspended, resulting in our athletes’ rights and interests in participating in IOC Games being impacted.

The Tsai government, of course, knows the risks surrounding this plebiscite with regard to our participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; the Tsai government does not block, nor does it support, this plebiscite. It is expected that even if the plebiscite were adopted, the government would "not intervene in the operations of the CTOC." However, we are afraid, this is only a unilateral, optimistic assessment of the government. This plebiscite has aroused the heightened alert of the IOC, and especially in Mainland China. According to the Mainland’s assessment, this plebiscite is a first step in crossing the red line of de jure Taiwan independence; once adopted, as the Mainland’s influence has had a pattern to achieving its goals when it decides to act, the rights and interests of CTOC will inevitably be constricted, it could even be expelled from the IOC, thus our athletes’ rights to participate in the Games could also be deprived.

To a certain degree, it may be said that the Tsai government itself is to blame in being mired in today’s catch-22 predicament in both cross-Strait relations and issues of international space. If the Tsai government indeed wants to safeguard the rights and interests of our athletes’ participation in the Games, it should urge the public to cast a negative vote, but the Cabinet up to now still panders to some people by emphasizing democratic values, pushing the heavy burden of safeguarding the athletes’ rights to participate in the Games to the CTOC, which is but a civic organization; is this fair?

Attachment : none