 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
This narrow-focus article concerns Chinese Olympic politics only. This is the politics, historical and present-day, surrounding the participation in the Olympics of the Chinese Olympic Team, the Chinese Taipei Olympic Team and to a much lesser extent the Hong Kong Olympic Team. This article is not concerned with Sport.
Though China entered international sports affairs and initiated a relationship with the IOC as early as May 1915, it did not actually participate in the Olympic Games until 1932. After a long civil war between communists and nationalists (KMT), which intensified after the end of World War II, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was established on 1 October 1949. The defeated KMT "Republic of China" (ROC) government evacuated to the island of Formosa, now known as Taiwan. Thus, from this time in history, the ROC and the PRC have each fielded rival teams and this has led to a series of historical incidents in international and IOC affairs.
The PRC withdrew from the IOC and from all international sports federations in 1958. The PRC decision taken in 1958 prompted its absence from the Olympic Movement for a period of 25 years.
The PRC began its return to the IOC in 1971 by resuming participation in the Asian Games. Some members of the IOC supported integrating the PRC into the Olympic movement. In September at the 71st IOC Session in Luxembourg, PRC participation was raised as an issue. However, the response received was that the IOC was ready to welcome all NOCs whose statutes conformed to IOC rules (including, for the PRC, accepting that the Republic of China also had an Olympic team). This was unacceptable to the PRC.
Early in 1973, the Japanese Olympic Committee began writing to various international federations and National Olympic Committees calling for the PRC's reinstatement in the IOC. The Japanese Olympic Committee sought the expulsion of the ROC.
In October 1973, the Asian Games Federation voted to admit the PRC to the Teheran Asian Games and to expel the ROC. At the IOC Congress in Varna in October 1973, one of the main topics of discussion dealt with the inclusion of the PRC in the Olympic Games and its return to the international sporting world.
The IOC's reaction to the decision taken by the Asian Games Federation:
In order to have IOC-patronage the Asian Games Organizing Committees had to invite all NOCs in their area. It was also an IOC-rule stating that a nation without an NOC could not be invited. Evidently the PRC was going to be invited, but not the Republic of China (Taiwan). (21)
The question of the PRC's IOC membership, however, did not gain prominence until April 9, 1975. At the IOC Session in Lausanne, the PRC made a formal application for recognition as "the sole sports organization representing the whole of China." At the same time, the PRC set a condition that Taiwan should be excluded.
At the IOC Executive Committee meeting in Rome in May 1975, a formal request for the admission of the PRC NOC was presented to the IOC by the Iranian NOC. The IOC member from Taiwan, Henry Hsu, in regard to the PRC application, was in favour of admitting China provided that it met the provisions of the Olympic Rules. On the question of the PRC demand that Taiwan be expelled, Hsu reminded his fellow IOC members of several points: (1) that never before had an applicant set prior conditions for acceptance by the IOC; (2) that the PRC did not control sport in Taiwan; (3) that the IOC had granted recognition to other divided states (Germany and Korea), and (4) that only when an NOC had broken the rules could it be expelled.
In early May 1975, the PRC issued a statement:
... any attempt to resolve the conflict by changing the name of the ROC (Taiwan) committee, or keeping Taiwan in the IOC as separate state, or by inviting the PRC and yet not expelling Taiwan, would be unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of the Chinese people. (31)
Finally the decision was made as follows: "An IOC-delegation headed by the President should visit China. In the absence of sufficient information there would be no vote taken during the Session." (32)
On 1 November 1975, the Iranian NOC intensified its campaign. They pointed out, "No vote was ever held on the acceptance of an NOC in Taiwan during the early years after the founding of the PRC." (34)
The 1976 Olympics were awarded to Montreal in May 1970. On 23 May 1975, in response to a question as to whether or not the government would support the participation of both Chinas at the 1976 Summer Games, Canadian officials stated that "these decisions have to be made by the International Olympic Committee. We are the host for the games but we do not decide who participates." (37) Beijing had formally requested that the Canadian Government bar unconditionally the entry of the Taiwanese delegation. Canada refused to do this, (38) on the condition that Taiwan compete in the Olympics without reference to the word "China," a condition that applied to Taiwan's participation in the 1960 Games in Rome. (39) At that time (1960), Taiwan participated as the representative of Taiwan and not as the representative of the Republic of China. (40) That situation included not using "the flag, anthem, or any symbol of the 'Republic of China' or use team designation that includes the word China," (41) because: "we (Canada) recognize the PRC and we are not under this guise proposing to import into our foreign policy a two-China policy."
The Canadian Government did not reveal its position until the end of May 1976. In a reply to the Canadian stance, the IOC issued a statement in Lausanne:
The Canadian position is in direct conflict with fundamental Olympic principles and that Montreal would never have been awarded the Games ... if Canada had not given assurances that athletes from all National Olympic Committees recognized by the IOC would be allowed to attend. (43)
As part of its bid to host the 1976 Olympics, Canada has pledged to admit any teams that represent the National Olympic Committees and National Sports Federations that the IOC recognizes. However, there was a clause added to this agreement reserving "the normal regulations," which turned out to be the Canadian position that no country could represent another nation that Canada had relations. [1] In the end, China was not admitted in time so Taiwan participated using the name 'Republic of China.'
A string of negotiations finally resolved the participation of China and Taiwan in 1981. It was agreed that PRC's NOC would be recognized as the Chinese Olympic Committee while the Taiwan NOC was to be known as the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee. [2] Later, in a 1989 accord, China and Taiwan agreed to name the Taiwanese Olympic delegation as "zhonghua taibei" (Chinese Taipei) instead of "zhongguo taiwan" or "zhongguo taibei." [3] The Taiwanese acceded because the term zhongguo taibei makes Taiwan part of China while zhonghua taibei does not. On the other hand, China was content with the term because it acknowledged Chinese ethnic background and did not use taiwan, which is a national identifier. [3]
Hong Kong has had a distinct National Olympic Committee since 1950 and has competed at the Games since 1952. After the territory was returned to the PRC and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was created in 1997, this arrangement has continued, with Hong Kong competing independently from the rest of the nation.
"Chinese Taipei" is the name for Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), designated in the Nagoya Resolution whereby the ROC and the People's Republic of China (PRC) recognize each other when it comes to the activities of the International Olympic Committee and its correlates. The ROC participates under this name in various international organizations and events, including the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the Metre Convention, FIRST Global and international pageants.
The Republic of China competed as Chinese Taipei at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. 31 competitors, 23 men and 8 women, took part in 15 events in 7 sports.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current president is Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah. The oldest NOCs are from Japan and the Philippines, recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1911; whereas East Timor is the newest, joining in 2003. The headquarters of the OCA is located at Kuwait City.
The Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Hong Kong. As such it is a separate member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The current president is Timothy Fok. The headquarters building is called the Hong Kong Olympic House, located beside Hong Kong Stadium.
Due to the political status of Taiwan, the Republic of China (ROC) competed as Chinese Taipei at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. The International Olympic Committee mandates that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee flag is used, and not the flag of the Republic of China. In the People's Republic of China (PRC), the team is known as Zhongguo Taibei (中国台北队) or, Taipei, China, where China implies the PRC.
Due to the political status of Taiwan, the Republic of China (ROC) competed as Chinese Taipei at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The International Olympic Committee mandates that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee flag is used, and not the flag of the Republic of China. In the People's Republic of China (PRC), the team is known as Zhongguo Taibei (中国台北队) or, Taipei, China, where China implies the PRC.
Due to the political status of Taiwan, the Republic of China (ROC) competed as Chinese Taipei at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. The International Olympic Committee mandates that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee flag is used, and not the flag of the Republic of China. In the People's Republic of China (PRC), the team is known as Zhongguo Taibei (中国台北队) or, Taipei, China, where China implies the PRC. China's doing so violates a treaty signed by both countries, Taiwan and China, in which the agreement states that the official name for Taiwan in sporting events is "Chinese Taipei" (中華台北) and not "Taipei, China" (中國台北).
Due to the political status of Taiwan, the Republic of China (ROC) competed as Chinese Taipei at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. The International Olympic Committee mandates that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee flag is used, and not the flag of the Republic of China. In the People's Republic of China (PRC), the team is known as Zhongguo Taibei (中国台北队) or, Taipei, China, where China implies the PRC.
Due to the political status of Taiwan, the Republic of China (ROC) competed as Chinese Taipei at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The International Olympic Committee mandates that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee flag is used, and not the flag of the Republic of China. In the People's Republic of China (PRC), the team is known as Zhongguo Taibei (中国台北队) or, Taipei, China, where China implies the PRC.
The Republic of China (ROC) had always competed in the Olympic Games under that name except for the second time under the name of Chinese Taipei, and the first Winter Games, at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The change in name was a result of the Nagoya Resolution, adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1979 due to objections raised in the 1970s by the People's Republic of China (PRC) over the political status of Taiwan. The IOC restrictions over the ROC name had led the ROC to boycott the Summer Games of 1976 and 1980; the PRC had boycotted all the previous Olympic Games.
Originally having participated in Olympics as the delegation of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1924 to 1976, China competed at the Olympic Games under the name of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the first time in 1952, at the Summer Games in Helsinki, Finland, although they only arrived in time to participate in one event. That year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed both the PRC and the Republic of China to compete, although the latter withdrew in protest. Due to the dispute over the political status of China, the PRC did not participate in the Olympics again until the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States. Their first appearance at the Summer Olympic Games after 1952 was the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States.
The Chinese Taipei baseball team is the national team of Taiwan. It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked fourth in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, behind Japan, the United States, and South Korea respectively. The team is usually made up of professionals from Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League, Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, and Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from the United States.
The Chinese Olympic Committee has been the officially designated body of the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding the Olympic Games and other affiliated international sport federations since 1979, when the Nagoya Resolution was adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Chinese Olympics may refer to:
The Republic of China currently competes as "Chinese Taipei" at the Olympic Games. The ROC first participated at the Summer Olympic Games in 1932. After the Chinese Civil War the ROC retreated to the island of Taiwan and only Taiwan-based athletes have competed in its team since then. The ROC boycotted the Olympics starting from the 1976 Summer Games until it returned to the 1984 Winter Games, and started participating as Chinese Taipei.
Hong Kong first competed at the Olympic Games in 1952, then as a British colony. Hong Kong has participated at every Summer Olympic Games since then except for the boycotted 1980 Games, and has also participated in the Winter Olympic Games since 2002.
The Republic of China (ROC) participated in its first Summer Olympics in 1932 under the name of China. After the Chinese Civil War the ROC retreated to the island of Taiwan, and only Taiwan-based athletes have competed on behalf of the country since then. The ROC protested the 1979 Nagoya Resolution by boycotting the 1976 Summer Olympics; this continued until the ROC competed under the deliberately ambiguous name Chinese Taipei in the 1984 Winter Olympics. China also took part in the Opening Ceremony of the 1924 Summer Olympics, but its four athletes withdrew from competition.
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee representing the Republic of China (Taiwan).
The People's Republic of China (PRC) sent a delegation to the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
The East Asian Youth Games (EAYG) is an international multi-sport event organised by the East Asian Olympic Committee (EAOC) and held every four years since 2019 among athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), as well as the Pacific island of Guam, which is a member of the Oceania National Olympic Committees.