The
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(ROC) took part in the opening ceremony of the
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...
, but its four athletes, all of whom were tennis players, withdrew from competition. The ROC participated in its first Olympic Games in 1932 under the name of China. After the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the ROC competed at the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
. The
ROC delegation at the 1948 Summer Games is the only ROC delegation composed of athletes from both
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
and
island of Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, News media, press and Western literature, literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of ...
in Olympic history. In 1932 and 1936, athletes from Taiwan competed as part of the team of Japan.
After the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, the ROC
retreated to the island of Taiwan in 1949 and
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC) established in the mainland China.
A number of
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
actions enabled the IOC to include both the PRC and the ROC in Olympic activities. The 1979 Nagoya Resolution recognised the PRC's Olympic Committee as the
Chinese Olympic Committee
The Chinese Olympic Committee (; IOC code: CHN) 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 Resolu ...
and allowed the ROC to compete under the
deliberately-ambiguous name "
Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...
". The PRC welcomed the Nagoya Resolution and returned to the Games in 1980 while the ROC protested against this decision and boycotted the 1980 Games. The dispute was settled in 1981 as an agreement was signed between the IOC and the ROC's
Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (; IOC code: TPE) is the National Olympic Committee representing the Republic of China (Taiwan).
History
The China National Amateur Athletic Federation () was established on 3 April 1922. Later that year, the ...
. Based on the 1981 agreement, the ROC has competed under the name of Chinese Taipei since the
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...
.
Participation
Timeline of participation
Medal tables
Medals by Summer Games
Nagoya Resolution
Overview
After the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(ROC) was denied official representation in the 1976 Summer Olympics, the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) passed a resolution to recognized both the
PRC
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
's and the ROC's
National Olympic Committee
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
s (NOC) at the 81st IOC Session held in April 1979.
The resolution specified "all matters pertaining to names, anthems, flags and constitutions will be the subject of studies and agreements which will have to be completed as soon as possible." The IOC Executive Board appointed a three-person working group consisting of First Vice President
Mohammed Mzali
Mohammed Mzali ( ar, محمد مزالي, 23 December 1925 – 23 June 2010) was a Tunisian politician who served as Prime Minister between 1980 and 1986.
Early life
Mzali was born in Monastir, Tunisia on 23 December 1925. His family has ancest ...
as the head, and including Alexandru Siperco and
Lance Cross. In June 1979, Siperco drew up a draft resolution to recognize the PRC's NOC as the
Chinese Olympic Committee
The Chinese Olympic Committee (; IOC code: CHN) 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 Resolu ...
and to recognize the ROC's NOC as the
Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (; IOC code: TPE) is the National Olympic Committee representing the Republic of China (Taiwan).
History
The China National Amateur Athletic Federation () was established on 3 April 1922. Later that year, the ...
on the condition that the ROC's NOC adopted an anthem and a flag which were different from those of the ROC used then. The Executive Board decided to wait until the October meeting in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
to confirm the draft.
At the Nagoya meeting, the Executive Board passed a resolution known as the Nagoya Resolution. The resolution read as follows:
Lord Killanin
Baron Killanin, of Galway in the County of Galway, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
History
It was created in 1900 for the Irish lawyer and politician Michael Morris, Baron Morris, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
The Cour ...
, the
president of the IOC, submitted the resolution to 89 IOC members for a
postal vote
Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system.
In an ele ...
on 26 October 1979. 81 ballots were received at IOC headquarters. The results of the votes were released on 26 November and the resolution was passed by a vote of 62 to 17, with two abstentions.
The Nagoya Resolution allowed the PRC and the ROC to participate together by designating that the ROC would be identified as "
Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...
" and any identifying flag, anthem, or emblem used in Olympic activities would be without symbolism to show the existence of the ROC and demonstrate its sovereign nation status. The resolution was accomplished under a version of the
Olympic Charter
The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the 136th IOC Session, held by video conference. Adop ...
that stated that the words "country" or "nation" in the charter could also apply to a "geographical area, district or territory."
The PRC could symbolize Taiwan as a
dependent territory
A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory) is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state, yet remains politically outside the controlli ...
of the PRC, and the Olympic committee on Taiwan as a territorial branch of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
1981 agreement
![Emblem of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Emblem_of_Chinese_Taipei_for_Olympic_games.svg)
The ROC's NOC and IOC member
Henry Hsu refused to recognize the Nagoya Resolution, and filed a series of lawsuits against the IOC for annulment of the resolution in 1979. The dispute was not settled until the IOC and the ROC's NOC signed an agreement in 1981. Based on the agreement, the ROC's NOC is recognized as the
Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (; IOC code: TPE) is the National Olympic Committee representing the Republic of China (Taiwan).
History
The China National Amateur Athletic Federation () was established on 3 April 1922. Later that year, the ...
and entitled to be treated on the equal footing as other NOCs.
The 1997 revision of the IOC Charter was clarified to define the term "country" as an independent state with international recognition.
A retroactive action to remove recognition of an existing NOC was prohibited by a 1996 IOC Session action. Therefore, the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee preserved its existing status in the IOC.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and
Macao
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, two
special administrative regions of China
The special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China are one of the provinces of China, provincial-level administrative divisions of the China, People's Republic of China directly under the control of its State Counc ...
, have their own Olympic Committees with different status. The
Olympic Committee of Hong Kong was recognized by the IOC since 1951, whereas the
Olympic Committee of Macau failed to be a new member of the IOC given the fact that Macao is not a state.
Translation of Chinese Taipei
The Nagoya Resolution was officially written in English and French, creating a
deliberately ambiguous term "Chinese" that could be interpreted as the sovereign state (e.g. as in "Chinese embassy") or as the culture (e.g. as in "Chinese architecture"). The ROC translated Chinese Taipei as ''Chunghwa Taipei'' (), however, the PRC translate it as ''Zhōngguó Táiběi'' ().
There was no problem when the ROC and the PRC were involved in the same event in other countries, as the name would be spelled according to the host language. However, the
1990 Asian Games
The 1990 Asian Games also known as the XI Asiad and the 11th Asian Games ( zh, c=第十一届亚洲运动会, p=Dì shíyī jiè yàzhōu yùndònghuì), were held from September 22 to October 7, 1990, in Beijing, China. This was the first Asian Ga ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
resurrected the issue. According to
He Zhenliang
He Zhenliang (; 29 December 1929 – 4 January 2015) was a Chinese politician and diplomat. He served as vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, the chairman of the International Olympic Committee's Culture and Olympic Education Com ...
, the IOC member from the PRC, the ROC refused the "Zhongguo" name interpretation on principle due to the direct implication that the team would be a local part of China. Eventually, the PRC agreed that the ROC name did not imply that there were
two Chinas
The term "Two Chinas" refers to the geopolitical situation where two political entities exist under the name "China".
Background
In 1912, the Xuantong Emperor abdicated as a result of the Xinhai Revolution, and the Republic of China was est ...
or
one China, one Taiwan. In 1989, the two Olympic committees signed a pact in Hong Kong where the PRC agreed to use the ROC's translation in international sports-related occasions hosted in China.
References
External links
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{{Country at games navbox, Republic of China, Summer Olympics
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