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South Korean girl group IVE held a world tour concert at the Taipei Arena. Unexpectedly, a "Chinese Taipei" support video appeared on the giant digital signage "Taipei Canopy" on the exterior wall. (Picture taken from Threads)
During the Korean girl group IVE's performance at the Taipei Arena, a fan support advertisement on the exterior wall showed "Welcome to Chinese Taipei", causing controversy. Beijie Recreation Company stated that the advertisements are undertaken, reviewed and scheduled by the agency, and the materials are provided by the commissioning unit. After disputes, they will be removed from the shelves for review. Taoyuan City Councilor Ling Tao of the Kuomintang immediately cited the examples of the 2016 World Health Conference and APEC, questioning whether the DPP government could use "Chinese Taipei" in the past, but now criticizes the Little Arena advertisement, whether this is a double standard.
This counterattack is missing a necessary distinction. APEC official data shows that "Chinese Taipei" has been one of the names of its member economies since 1991; at the 2016 World Health Assembly, then Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Zuoyen also used "Chinese Taipei" as the official name of the meeting. Tsai Ing-wen said at the time that "the title has not been dwarfed," while Lin Quan said that "Chinese Taipei" was an unsatisfactory but barely acceptable name for international participation. These old sayings can be used to test whether the DPP's statements today are consistent, but they cannot directly turn the membership of international organizations or the names of participants into titles that Taiwan must accept on any occasion.
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The exterior of the Arena is a different story. Many media reported that this support content was funded by a Chinese fan group; Beijie Recreation Company’s public response only confirmed that the material was provided by the sponsoring unit and did not disclose the identity of the sponsor. The advertisement put "Chinese Taipei" on the exterior walls of Taiwan's public venues, and the Taiwanese people criticized it. The government's participation in international organizations based on its existing membership or participation in the name is an answer to two different questions.
If Ling Tao's argument is to be established, it cannot only prove that the same name has been used at the World Health Assembly and APEC in the past, but must also prove that international membership has the same applicable conditions as domestic general occasions. In international reality, Taiwan has accepted a certain membership or conference name. This does not mean that Taiwanese people can only accept it when they see the same title in their own public places.
Taoyuan City Councilor Ling Tao of the Kuomintang questioned whether the DPP government could use "Chinese Taipei" in the past, but now criticizes the arena advertising, whether there is a double standard. For his argument to be valid, it must be shown that international membership has the same applicable conditions as domestic general occasions. (File photo)
What is more worthy of Ling Tao's answer is his own standards. When he served as chairman of the Kuomintang Cultural Communication Committee in 2021, he publicly said that "the ROC faction is the greatest common denominator in the international community." When discussing the election of the blue camp this year, he still used the statement that "the ROC faction will win." Since the "Republic of China faction" is the political position he uses repeatedly, there is a very direct rhetorical question: If "Chinese Taipei" and the Republic of China can be equated regardless of the occasion, is he also willing to change the "Republic of China faction" to the "Chinese Taipei faction"?
The English name of the Republic of China is Republic of China; the name of the member economy used by APEC is Chinese Taipei. The two names are not the same concept, nor can they be directly regarded as interchangeable just because they have referred to Taiwan at the same time in international participation.
If Ling Tao wants to use what was said in 2016 to test the DPP's standards today, that's fine; the same yardstick should also be used to put his own "Republic of China faction" views back. What needs to be determined in this dispute is under what institutional conditions "Chinese Taipei" is used, and whether international membership or conference names can be directly transplanted into Taiwan's public arena. If the international membership name cannot replace the country name, this defense cannot end with just "it has been used before."
The English name of the Republic of China is Republic of China; the name of the member economy used by APEC is Chinese Taipei. The two names are not the same concept; schematic diagram. (European News Agency file photo)
(The author is a retired person)
