Navigating Political Identity in the Olympics: The Case of Taiwan

A Moment of Defeat at the Olympics

The athletes had faced defeat. Their journey in Paris had come to an end, and in this moment of loss against a team representing a political rival, they were stripped of the solace of their homeland’s name and flag. To be an Olympian hailing from Taiwan means existing in a peculiar state of limbo—at least in official terms. To appease China, the island competes at the Olympic Games under the clumsy title of Chinese Taipei. This political intrusion into the realm of sports demands that athletes engage in a form of rhetorical gymnastics that could easily trip up even the most accomplished tumbler, especially poignant for a table tennis player who has just been bested by Team China.

“I’m only fighting for myself, through my own hard work,” stated Taiwan’s Chen Szu-yu, opting to emphasize her individual effort instead of her nation’s identity on the grand Olympic stage.

Her teammate, Chien Tung-chuan, chose to sidestep the sensitive political discourse altogether, politely declining to comment on Taiwan’s standing at the Olympics. “I cannot answer that question,” she said with a hint of resignation. “May I go?”

The Olympics represent a truly international arena, unlike any other. The United Nations General Assembly, another grand global initiative, excludes many territories, tiny islands, and those nations that remain in a state of ambiguity. Puerto Rico, Palestine, and Chinese Taipei all marched proudly in the Olympic parade of nations, alongside a refugee team composed of 37 individuals forcibly displaced from some of the very countries competing in Paris.

However, to accommodate such a vast diversity—encompassing North Korea and South Korea, Israel and Palestine, Armenia and Azerbaijan, China and Taiwan—the Olympic organizers impose a mandate that discourages athletes from taking political stands. They strive to encapsulate in a single sporting moment the inspiring flight of a woman propelled by a springy pole or the swift revolution of a wheel in a velodrome, crafting an ideal of international unity. They idealize an Olympic truce, envisioning a scenario where competitors momentarily set aside their differences and conflicts for the duration of the world’s premier athletic event.