◎ Burnt-faced Spoonbill
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan recently expressed support for "Team Taiwan" on social media. (Taken from Jiang Wanan’s Facebook)
In the past, when I was writing for the Chiang Kai-shek City Government, I would inevitably use the term "Team Taiwan" whenever there was an international baseball game. But when I extended the term to other sports competitions, I received an order: "Do not use it except for baseball games."
Obviously, Jiang Wanan at that time deliberately limited "Team Taiwan" to a simple baseball cheering phrase.
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The Kuomintang has always regarded "Team Taiwan" as the political language created by the Democratic Progressive Party and believes that it is the exclusive political code of the Green Camp. As Fu Kunqi once said, "Team Taiwan" is the Democratic Progressive Party's "national fraud team."
But now, Jiang Wanan suddenly supports "Team Taiwan", and his intentions are completely hypocritical.
Jiang Wanan said on Facebook: "Cheer for Taiwan, no need to apologize." But what is puzzling is that no one wanted to apologize for this incident. I wonder where his words came from? You know, the last time someone publicly apologized was Zhou Tzuyu, who was holding the flag of the Republic of China but was reported by Huang An as a "Taiwan independence activist".
Jiang Wan'an mentioned Taiwan five times in his article, mentioned the players of the Chinese team, and also mentioned the light of Taiwan, but he did not mention the word "country". Jiang Wanan emphasized that he opposed "any action that suppresses Taiwan's international space and restricts Taiwan's international participation." However, this sentence is missing the most critical subject: Who is suppressing and restricting Taiwan? Isn't it the China that made cheering for Taiwan a taboo that Jiang Wanan did not dare to speak out about?
Jiang Wanan mentioned Taiwan, Chinese team players and the light of Taiwan five times in the entire Facebook post, but did not mention the word "country". (Extracted from Jiang Wanan’s Facebook)
"Team Taiwan" is a slogan that has become popular in international baseball games in recent years. It not only shouts out "Taiwan Team", but also has a homophonic sound of "support Taiwan". More importantly, this slogan has gradually spread from the stadium to the outside world and has become a national identity that people who grew up in this land can finally shout out.
Chen Yongji, who retired this year, was called a "Taipei team" player by the host at the 2006 Classic. In his response, he said that he was very happy to represent the "Taiwan team." That was the first time our generation felt that we could finally be seen as a "country" in the international arena.
In the 2006 Classic, when Chen Yongji was called a "Taipei Team" player by the host, he responded: I am very happy to represent the "Taiwan Team." (File photo)
In the world championship game of the top 12, Chen Jiexian made a gesture that moved countless people in front of the jersey that should have the name of the country printed on it, but the chest was blank. That is what Taiwanese people for several generations have been trying to tell the world: to be proud of our country and proud to be Taiwanese.
In the World Top 12 Championship, Chen Jiexian's hand gesture after hitting a key three-pointer was to tell everyone: "We are players from Taiwan." (File photo)
Therefore, Team Taiwan is a code with multiple meanings. It not only shapes the imagined community of this land, but also becomes a way to collectively display national identity. It is no longer limited to baseball fields or sports venues. It is also the iconic language that can be regarded as a country when Taiwan stands on the world stage.
But national identity is not a battlefield where Jiang Wanan is good at leading discourse, and it is also outside the scope of what this mayoral election should focus on. Posting this article at this time will not please the supporters of the green camp, and it is not in line with the consistent main theme of the blue camp. It really makes me wonder, are Jiang Wanan's staff helping him? Or are you trying to trick him?
(The author is a former Beijing City Government employee and writer)
