Why Taiwan competes as Chinese Taipei in the Olympics | Unpacking the One China Policy

Intro Why do Taiwanese Olympians compete under  the name "Chinese Taipei, and how did an   international sports competition become a  battleground in the Chinese Civil War?   Today, we’re diving into a story of  controversy, compromise, national humiliation,   and national identity. Welcome to ChinaTalk.   History In the 1940s, the communist revolution  took China by storm. The communists,   led by Mao Zedong, overthrew the ruling  Republic of China government and established   the People’s Republic of China, or PRC. The  ROC leaders retreated to the island of Taiwan,   hoping to regroup and launch a counteroffensive to  retake the mainland under the leadership of Chiang   Kai-Shek. Taiwan was wide open, as the Japanese  colonial government had abandoned the island   after their defeat in WWII. Easy, right? Wrong! Decades of distractions and boondoggles   kept both Chinas occupied, and the Chinese  Civil War became a frozen conflict. For   decades, Chiang Kai-Shek’s KMT party ruled Taiwan  as a military dictatorship. Instead of admitting   that reconquering mainland China was, ahem,  unrealistic, they stubbornly claimed to be the   legitimate government of all of China and Taiwan.  This fantasy became the “One-China principle” –   the PRC eagerly agreed with the KMT’s argument  that Taiwan is part of China, and regarding   the issue of who governed this Unified China,  each side could just agree to disagree.   The KMT’s ultimatums worked well until the PRC  became rich and powerful. Beginning in the 1970s,   Taiwan’s allies ghosted them one-by-one and  recognized the PRC. One by one, international   institutions cited the One China Policy and booted  Taiwan’s representatives. Nationalist China was a   founding member of the United Nations, and majorly  contributed to the Japanese defeat in world war 2,   but that didn’t prevent the Taiwanese  delegation from being unceremoniously   deported from the UN in 1971. Today, the KMT is an unpopular minority party   in democratic Taiwan. I wonder why. One China at the Olympics.   During the colonial period, Taiwan’s olympic  athletes competed under the Japanese flag.   Following the nationalist takeover of Taiwan,  the ROC and PRC took turns boycotting the   Olympics if the other was competing. Once it was clear that the ROC had lost the   mainland for good, the International Olympic  Committe found itself in an awkward situation.   When Canada hosted the Olympics in 1976, they  prohibited Taiwan’s athletes from competing   on the basis of the One China policy. The Olympics are supposed to be apolitical.   It was a bad look for the IOC if host countries  took sides in the Chinese civil war and banned   athletes based on geopolitical winds. They needed  a workaround to avoid triggering a diplomatic   incident every 2 years. Taiwanese athletes tried  competing as The Republic of China, Taiwan,   and Formosa, but in China’s opinion, all of  these titles violated the One China policy.   Chinese Taipei Finally, the two found compromise in the 1979  Nagoya Resolution. This agreement allowed   Taiwan to participate in the Olympics, as long  as they competed under a different name, flag,   and national anthem. It's a bit like showing  up to the bar with an obviously fake ID.   You won’t find “Chinese Taipei” on any map of  the world, but that’s almost the beauty of it.   The word “Chinese" is purposefully ambiguous  – it could either refer to Chinese ethnicity   or a Chinese citizenship. “Taipei” is Taiwan's  capital city, which makes the allegiance   of the athletes clear without implying  anything about territorial extent.   This compromise isn't exactly popular in Taiwan.  Using the word “Taiwan” is strictly prohibited at   olympic events, but that doesn’t stop some  Taiwnese fans from disobeying in protest.   During the Paris 2024 Olympics, a family of 4  was ordered to wash off their facepaint that   depicted Taiwan’s. A banner with a slogan written  in Taiwanese Hokkien was snatched and shredded.   Many Taiwanese people feel this disrespects  their identity and sovereignty, while rewarding   China for authoritarian pettiness. It’s also  important to note that Taiwan’s Indigenous people   aren’t even ethnically Chinese – they’re  Austronesian, like Hawaiians, Filipinos,   and the Maori in new Zealand. CK Yang, the  winner of Taiwan’s first olympic medal,   CK Young was an indigenous athlete born under the Japanese  occupation. [CK Yang story] Yang’s charisma and   athletic success made him internationally famous.  The press crowned him “The Iron Man of Asia” and   extensively reported on his friendship  with the American Olympian Rafer Johnson,   who narrowly won gold in 1960 while Yang won  silver. CK Yang was giving the non-Chinese parts   of Taiwanese culture a platform on a global scale  – and that was enraging to Communist China.   The PRC allegedly recruited one of Yang’s  teammates to poison his orange juice the night   before he competed in the 1964 Tokyo olympics.  He became violently ill and finished 5th place,   despite being the overwhelming favorite  to win gold. Before the teammate could be   further investigated, he fled to mainland  China and was given PRC citizenship.   Given that the choice between competing  under a fake name and not competing at all,   Taiwan’s athletes have made the best of the title  they’ve been given. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris,   Taiwan’s Badminton duo won gold in a  high stakes match against the People’s   Republic of China. When Taiwanese fans  from celebrate national victories,   their political circumstance doesn’t  usually dampen their enthusiasm.   This compromise isn't just for the Olympics —  "Chinese Taipei" represents Taiwan in the World   Trade Organization, the World Health Organization,  the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum,   and the Miss Universe beauty pageant. What do you think about Taiwan’s predicament?   Let us know in the comments below! And  if you found this video interesting,   don't forget to like and subscribe for  more explanations of geopolitical oddities.