Taiwan rules out sending officials to Beijing Winter Olympics | News

The island’s athletes will compete as normal amid concerns over a possible political move by Beijing in the event.

Taiwan said its athletes will take part in the Beijing Winter Olympics that starts next month but ruled out sending any officials, adding a call for China not to use politics to “interfere” with the event or “belittle” the island.

Taiwan competes in most sporting events including the Olympics as “Chinese Taipei” at the insistence of Beijing, which sees democratically-governed Taiwan as part of “one China” and inviolable Chinese territory.

Relations have plummeted in the past two years or so as Beijing steps up military and diplomatic pressure to assert its territorial claims, including regular air force flights into Taiwan’s air defence zone, with further massed incursions reported by Taiwan this week.

In a statement on Tuesday, Taiwan’s China-policy-making Mainland Affairs Council said the island’s athletes would compete in the Games as normal.

At least four have already qualified, according to Taiwan’s Olympic committee.

“In addition, considering the limited number of participants and the previous precedent that our side’s officials were often absent, no official representatives will be sent,” it added.

Taiwan’s Olympic committee will lead a delegation to China and handle matters related to the Games, the council said.

“We call on this year’s organisers to abide by the ‘Olympic Charter’ and not use political factors to interfere with the competition and suppress and belittle our side. Relevant government units will also be prepared to respond to various emergencies,” it added, without elaborating.

Taiwanese concerns

Authorities in Taipei feared that Beijing could “downgrade” Taiwan’s status by putting its athletes alongside those from the Chinese “special administrative region” of Hong Kong at the opening ceremony, a senior Taiwan official familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.

No Taiwanese officials attended the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, though three senior politicians did.

Digital Minister Audrey Tang was due to go to last year’s Tokyo Games, but her trip was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

At the last Winter Games in South Korea in 2018, Taiwan only sent four athletes.

Sub-tropical Taiwan, where snow brushes only the highest mountaintops during the coldest winters, has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics.