Among the embarrassing aspects of the Paris 2024 Olympics is the official treatment of the Republic of China, often known as Taiwan, whose flag (shown above) is banned there because—well, because the People’s Republic of China would be upset if it were not banned.
Only two other country flags are verboten by the International Olympic Committee: those of Russia and Belarus, in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
Taiwan is not one of the combatants in Ukraine. It is, however, on the receiving end of China’s endless military posturing and probing in the Taiwan Strait, bullying that is one of a hundred good reasons for banning the PRC flag and the PRC from the Olympics.
It gets worse. In addition to the unofficial hooliganism of some anti-Taiwan spectators, there is the official hooliganism of Olympics personnel (“Flags banned, signs ripped up: Why you can’t mention Taiwan at the Olympics,” NBC News, August 10, 2024).
A green towel reading “Taiwan” was confiscated from another supporter during the match, according to news reports and witnesses. Those who were there said it was not clear who seized the items.
At another badminton match on Aug. 2, between Taiwan’s Chou Tien Chen and India’s Lakshya Sen, a spectator was removed from the venue after displaying a green sign that also said “Let’s go Taiwan,” witnesses said. [Emphasis added.]
That incident prompted a strong response from the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which in a statement last Saturday condemned the “violent and despicable act” of forcibly removing the placard.
It added, “This violent behavior is not only utterly uncivilized but also severely violates the spirit of civilization represented by the Olympics, contravenes the rule of law, and infringes upon freedom of speech.”
In response to a request for comment, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday that it firmly opposed any attempts to use the Olympic Games to “manipulate the Taiwan issue.”
According to IOC spokesman Mark Adams:
The IOC’s prohibition of any displays of political messaging at Olympic venues would include banners such as the one reading “Let’s go, Taiwan,” he said.
“You can see how this can lead into, ‘If that’s allowed, then why not this? And if this is allowed, why not that?” he told a news briefing. “So that’s why the rules are quite strict, because we have to try to bring 206 national Olympic committees together in one place and it’s quite a tough ask.”
Quite strict. Nobody in the audience may mention any countries in any signs. Slippery slope. One minute, level ground, the next, bam, right over a cliff. Right?
But the IOC isn’t worried about enforcing a reasonable boundary but about enforcing a boundary demanded by the thug government of China. Doing the bidding of China with respect to some innocent in the stands waving a “Let’s go Taiwan” sign is a form of cooperating with and enabling “political propaganda or expression,” not of enforcing a prohibition on same.
We have to go to a photo caption to learn who removed a spectator from the venue after the spectator displayed a green sign that “Let’s go Taiwan”: “A member of security asks a supporter holding a banner in reference to Taiwan to leave the stand on Aug. 2, in Paris.”
The member of security would be a person hired by the IOC and following IOC policy. The IOC was applying its policy to a person cheering the team of a country which in Paris must call itself “Chinese Taipei” if it wants to play…out of deference to the imperatives of PRC “political propaganda or expression.” (NBC News seems to think that the IOC’s regulations rightly also dictate its own mentions of Taiwan in reporting on the countries competing in the Olympics, as when it refers to “the women’s team table tennis quarterfinal between Chinese Taipei and China that NBC News attended Wednesday.”)
You don’t have to herd all those 206 cats, IOC. You can let Taiwan be Taiwan and tell China to get lost.
