Chinese Taipei

[bednobs]

Hi, i have tried looking for an answer on the internet, but foud the google answer much too confusing. Can anyone explain chinese taipei in simple terms. My understanding thus far is that it's a banner name that some athletes from some parts of the world cn compete under

[Jackdaw33]

Taipei is the capital of Taiwan, formerly Formosa. It is probably to distinguish them from the Republic of China.

[dannyk13]

Taipei is the capital of Taiwan

[DTCwordfan]

The Chinese see Taiwan as a renegade province and do not officially recognise Tai Wan.....Taiwan. Therefore, for some sports and cultural events, often the Taiwanese compete as Chinese Taipei. Splitting hairs maybe. As Lee Kuan Yue of Singapore once said, people are not bothered with the intricacies of diplomacy and freedom until GDP reaches 20k dollars....as to China and Taiwan, loads of political heat but, in fact, Taiwan is the largest investor in the mainland, even greater than the States, Japan or Germany......

[Buenchico]

>>> It is probably to distinguish them from the Republic of China.

I think that's the wrong way round! The official name of Taiwan (according to their own government) is the Republic of China (ROC), whereas the name of their much-larger neighbour is the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The government of the PRC asserts that Taiwan is simply a province of the PRC and therefore subject to rule from Beijing. The government of the ROC unsurprisingly disagree. (The historical background is that the government of the whole of China prior to 1927 lost the Chinese Civil War and retreated to Taiwan but still claiming to be the rightful government of the whole of China. However the successful rebels in Beijing took the opposite view, claiming that Taiwan was now under their control).

Most other nations don't want a dispute with the PRC and so officially refuse to recognise the ROC as a sovereign nation. However the ROC still functions as such and therefore competes as a 'country' in the Olympic Games.