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Restoring Taiwanese dignity
The disqualification of a participant in an international sporting event
involving multiple contestants carries finality and irreversibility.
Therefore, a decision to do so can never be taken — especially when there is
alleged cheating — without irrefutable evidence.
The Asian Taekwondo Union (ATU) formally accused “Chinese Taipei” of “shocking
acts of deception” when it disqualied a female Taiwanese athlete in this year’s
Asian Games.
Yet, only after two days of flip-flopping did the ATU come up with an
explanation for the on-site disqualification, an incredulous luxury enjoyed by
few referees in other sports.
The delay and lack of clarity make it a simple matter to conclude that this was
a fabrication designed to deprive the athlete of victory. On the other hand, the
question of “why?” deserves delving into.
On the surface, the answer seems obvious judging from the fact that the Chinese
official, who served the dual role of the event’s technical consultant as well
as the coach of the eventual gold-medal winner, initiated the accusation and
followed through by “participating” in the entire “contemplating” process to
come up with a final rationale for the disqualification.
Still, individual interests alone can hardly explain why an international sports
organization deliberately insulted the entire population of Taiwan.
Incidents involving referees’ lack of impartiality in international sporting
events might not be infrequent, but it is unheard of in the modern era for an
international sports organization to intentionally wade into political
controversy and kick the diplomatic equivalent of a hornet’s nest.
Without much risk of -simplicity, one could surmise that either this is part of
China’s efforts to demoralize the Taiwanese people or that Taiwanese have become
a magnet attracting contempt, or both.
China’s psychological warfare to undermine Taiwanese has picked up pace lately
to reflect the new political environment after the signing the Economic
Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). Minor skirmishes aside, there was last
month’s Tokyo International Film Festival incident and now this.
The fact that Taiwan’s national dignity undoubtedly nose-dived after President
Ma Ying-Jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration notwithstanding, there have also been notable
milestones.
There was that moment when Ma’s police roughed Taiwanese who waved national
flags at locations remotely visible by Association for Relations Across the
Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), during his first visit to Taiwan.
Then there was the scene where Ma’s hand-picked representative rejoiced at the
WHO’s observer “seat” — “benevolently bestowed” by Beijing and tethered to a
short leash in the form of an annual nod.
The trend culminated when Taiwanese meekly accepted a financial-greed stamped
ECFA, jointly brokered by the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese
Nationalist Party (KMT), which is clearly predicated on the principle of
Beijing’s “one China” policy. There is a universally negative view of those who
trade their national sovereignty for dollars.
Given that Ma’s fingerprints are all over this momentous slide in Taiwan’s
national dignity, signs of Taiwanese voting en mass against Ma and the KMT in
Saturday’s multi-metropolis elections would go a long way to reversing that
trend.
HUANG JEI-HSUAN
Los Angeles, California
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