From then onwards, all sporting events would have
The battle under
the Olympic Flame
How have sports become such an
important part of a Taiwanese
identity?
The way the Japanese used sports to implement ideology, later
on used by the KMT to spread propaganda, and now a beacon
of hope.
By: Bartol Hosi
S
Sports are not just a topic that is widely discussed
amongst families, but it is a tool used to spread political
views and propaganda. In many countries, talks about sports
are more commonly excepted than talking about politics, yet
politicians love when they are at the center of attention. The
same can be said for Taiwan, and its issues with an “identity
crisis”, where most people do not know where they belong,
or what is their identity. With mixed debates about these
issues, however, one thing can be said for sure, and that is,
that throughout history sports were often a way to
implement a certain identity by the government, or nations.
It all started when the Japanese invaded Taiwan,
and implemented many of their ways of education into
Taiwan’s schooling system. Before the Japanese, Taiwan
had minimal contact with modern ideas and movements. At
the time, Taiwan could have been considered an ideal
colony, as stated by John King Fairbank (1989), who
mentioned that Taiwan residents did not possess a clear
Sketch of children participating in school sporting curriculums in Taiwan during
the Japanese invasion.
Photo Credit: Edited by Kimura Jiro, Sketch Recollections on Internment
Experiences in India: 1941.12.8-1946.5.19 (Printed Paper Collection), without
page number, picture 131.
Hsu at Rio, weightlifting. Photo Credit: CNN Photo
sense of ethnic belonging. With the Japanese invasion in
1895, the sports curriculum was drastically changed and
was used to implement the Japanese identity amongst young
Taiwanese individuals. Marking the first time that sports
were actively systematically promoted in Taiwan. So how
come sports could be used in a way to promote political
views, and to spread the acceptance of the Japanese
occupation?
John King Fairbank (1989) focused on
how, in the late nineteenth century,
Taiwan was an ideal colony, in that its
residents did not possess a clear sense of
ethnic belongingness.
Sports meetings in schools were often regarded as
important events, and at these events the Japanese flag was
raised, accompanied by the national anthem of Japan. At
larger-scale sporting events, military marches were done to
showcase the new uniforms and regimented sporting
formations. All of this was done to promote the obedience
of Taiwanese citizens to the Japanese nation. More
traditional sports from Japan were also being introduced to
the Taiwanese society, such as judo, fencing, sumo
wrestling, and archery, which were implemented into the
students' sporting curriculum, to further promote the
Japanization movement, also known as “Kominka”.
As Ching notes (2001: 29), “Regardless of Japan’s
ambivalent relationship to the West, for the Taiwanese
intellectuals, Japan irrefutably represented the modern, as
compared to the colonizing West”. However soon after
other sports gained popularity, such as football, swimming,
basketball, etc, but one stood out of all of them, which was
baseball. The sport kept on being the people’s favorite even
after the Second World War. However, the Japanese-like
sports curriculum had less to do with implementing the
Japanese identity, and more to make Taiwanese become
loyal, obedient, industrious Japanese subjects.
Sports had a similar purpose in the following years
as well, however this time not for Japan, but for the KMT
(Chinese Nationalist Party). Originally KMT wanted to take
the sport over (Lin Chi-wen, 1995). However ended up
trying to utilize it the same way that the Japanese did, hence
decided to streamline the sport instead, therefore creating
the National Baseball Ass ociation, which was made to
oversee the process. With the introduction of martial law in
1947, Taiwanese speech, publication, religious faith,
gatherings, and so forth were banned and highly restricted,
however, sports became the main way of spreading
propaganda by the KMT.
“You have now returned to the embrace
of your motherland, and have become the
owners of the Republic of China.”
- Chiang Kai Shek
to serve the interests of the state. These would once again
include speeches, marches, and the anthem. One example is
the first Taiwan Provincial Sports Games track and field
competition held at Taiwan University in 1946, the speech
started by trying to make the citizens of Taiwan Believe in
themselves once again, the speech was done by Chiang Kai
Shek president and Madam Sung. Just before that, the
official KMT publications called for people to seek
“reeducation, for their minds had been polluted and had
been coerced to receive twisted thoughts” (New Taiwan
Monthly, 1946: 1-3) Overall this situation highlights how
the KMT manipulated the sport that all loved, baseball, into
a tool which helped them to spread their ideology and
propaganda.
In 1949 the People’s Republic of China (PRC), for
the first time entered back into the Olympic Games family
and competed in the Los Angeles Games in 1984. This was
the first time when the “Two Chinas” issue emerged for the
first time. At the time Taiwan was competing with the
Republic of China (ROC), as named by the first KMT
leader Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The conflict continued into the arena
of the games, as both were claiming to be the sole
representative of China. From then onwards it was a back-
and-forth fight between who has the right to what name,
flag, anthem, etc, but especially which country each team
presents.
As the cultural revolution happened in China, much
respect for the sporting system started to change and was
much less appreciated. When athletes quit, equipment was
Taiwan participating in the Winter Games in Beijing, as Chinese Taipei.
Photo Credits: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
destroyed, and many sports collages closed, however, this
began to change as China, for the first time went abroad for
the competition. They went to Scandinavian Open
Championship in Sweden in 1970 for table tennis. This thus
increased China's interest in sports worldwide, and hence
the issue of “two Chinas”, was once again brought into
discussion.
The question was how it could work out, as
obviously “Two Chinas” or “One China, One Taiwan” was

not tolerated. At this moment, Japan, the betrayed
lover, betrayed Taiwan, stating how they believe
that China should be welcomed, and Taiwan
expelled. However, in the end, a common ground
was set, which both PRC and ROC can accept. So
in the end, Taiwan can go to the Olympics under the
name Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, with a
different flag and anthem. Hence the creation of the
Olympic flag for Taiwan in 1979.
“We are Taiwanese. It is our name”
- Chi Cheng
In the present, although the Chinese are
satisfied with the name “Chinese Taipei”, many
Taiwanese believe that it is unjust and dishonest, as
the only reason for its creation was due to pressure
from China. This then misrepresents many of the
Taiwanese athletes, as it doesn’t represent their
identity, background, or hometown. Furthermore, in
the name, the capital of Taiwan is mentioned,
Taipei, yet many of the athletes that compete in
these global rounds tend to not be located in the
capital, yet were raised by struggling families from
the south. Research carried out by a Thinktank in
December of 2020, gathered how 80% of athletes
that compete in the national rounds identify as
Taiwanese, with only 8.7% of people who identify
as Chinese. Many do choose to not bring it up, but
for those who shout, voices echo.
The Olympic medalist Chi Cheng (紀政),
was not scared to raise her voice about the
mistreatment of Taiwan when it comes to the global
scale. Who spoke on many occasions, fighting for
the rights of Taiwanese athletes. “We are
Taiwanese. It is our name,” Even more popular
athletes in the 20th century also tend to promote
Taiwan as a country on its own, one example would
be the badminton gold-medalist Tai Tzu-Ying (戴資
穎) always returns to her hometown of Kaohsiung.
In 2017, after the championship, she mentioned
how her goal it to show the world the beauty of the
island of Formosa. “It is not just about winning first
Chinese Taipei Flag flying higher then the Chinese flag at July 13th 2021
Photo Credit: CNA Photo
or second place. My goal is to showcase Taiwan on
the international stage. When Taiwan is seen around
the world, it is a wonderful feeling for me.”
The popularity of changing the name from
Chinese Taipei has gone so far with the hashtag on
social media #TeamTaiwan, which many athletes
use in their posts and tweets. One post by President
Tsai Ing-wen said, “Taiwan was standing on the
world stage, and we all shared a feeling of pride.”
Which China immediately felt was a threat and
responded in an instant. Even though there was no
mention of her desire of changing the name, China
took offense and responded. “Using dirty tricks to
scheme toward ‘independence’ during sporting
events is a dead end,” Saying how they believe that
the post was a sneaky way of implementing this
ideology, and stating how there is no way that this
would in any way happen. Later adding that it was
agreed upon with IOC (International Olympic
Committee), hence it would be pointless to try to
change it.
“Using dirty tricks to scheme toward
‘independence’ during sporting
events is a dead end,”
- China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
In Taiwan as in many other countries,
sports were often a way to spread ideology and
were used strategically to manifest ideas and
ideology into the minds of the citizens. In Taiwan, it
confused the locals in terms of their socio-cultural
identity. Being used to the extreme of spreading
ideology during the invasion of the Japanese, later
on, used to spread propaganda by the KMT.
However the constant debate about Taiwan’s
identity and sense of belonging has gone on till
today, but many brave souls try to use the few
minutes that they have on the national stage, at
sporting events, to spread the idea of Taiwan being
an independent country. Strong enough to stand on
its own. International sporting events are rarely just
about the medals, but it is one of the most visible
expressions of nationalism.