Start Cycle of Cross Strait Goodwill with the Understanding of the Winter Olympics
Want Times, February 6, 2022
After many twists and turns, the Chinese Taipei delegation representing Taiwan appeared without a hitch at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Mainland China showed respect to the official name of the delegation, "Chinese Taipei," and the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen also strived to downplay the outbreak of a political storm before the Olympics to avoid affecting the atmosphere of cross-strait relations during the Winter Olympics. The goodwill and tacit understanding between the two parties at the Beijing Winter Olympics are expected to create a friendly atmosphere for the cross-strait interaction for the follow-up Hangzhou Asian Games and Chengdu World University Games.
Taiwan Not Dwarfed by China, Tsai Administration Maintains Stability
In the past six months, because of human rights issues in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Tibet, the Western world has been mulling a "boycott" of the Beijing Winter Olympics. In the end, a symbolic "diplomatic boycott" was chosen, rather than a substantive cancellation of the participation of athletes. The strained political situation and the strict epidemic prevention measures have cast a heavy political shadow over the Beijing Winter Olympics. Taiwan has been regarded as the front line of "pro-U.S.” and “anti-China." Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians and supporters have also called for a "boycott" of the Beijing Winter Olympics. However, the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee has never changed the established arrangements for sending athletes to compete. It once decided not to take part in the opening and closing ceremonies on the grounds of schedule, but then had a turnaround, presumably a higher-level decision.
The name and treatment of the Chinese Taipei team taking part in the Olympic Games are closely related to Taiwan's international space and are also influenced by the political atmosphere between both sides of the Taiwan Strait. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, at the time the Kuomintang (KMT) had returned to power, Mainland China first still referred to “Taipei, China” (zhongguo taibei), which caused a strong backlash from Taiwan. Finally, through communications on the platform of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the other side used “Chinse Taipei” (zhonghua taibei). After the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2016, Mainland China changed back to call “Taipei, China.”
In recent years, the situation in the Taiwan Strait has been severe, and it is impossible to replicate the experience in 2008. Fortunately, the exchanges between the two Olympic committees have been smooth. The Chinese Taipei team finally appeared at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Besides the instructions of the International Olympic Committee mentioned by the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, the communications between the two Olympic Committees also play a role, but the most important factor is that the highest level of both sides is still willing to keep goodwill and wiggle room.
After all, the name "Chinese Taipei" has been used internationally for many years under the agreement between the Olympic Committees in Beijing and Taipei. Mainland China did not dwarf our delegation at the occasion of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which just conveyed the goodwill of its intention to abide by the existing agreement. Similarly, the Chinese Taipei team overcame all kinds of political interference and took part in the opening ceremony, which also implied the Tsai government's pragmatic attitude towards "maintaining stability" in cross-strait relations.
Former Premier Wen Jiabao of mainland China once said that trust was more important than gold. In the six years since the Tsai administration took office, the economic and trade relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been increasingly close. But under the unfavorable background of the historic turning point and the structural confrontation in the U.S.-China relationship, the mutual trust between both the officials and the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait has been seriously lacking, and the faith in peaceful development has been lost. It is difficult to be compensated by the thriving economic and trade performance. However, what is commendable is that even though the Taiwan Strait was once considered "the most dangerous place on earth," the two sides still place importance on the well-being of the people, and strive to maintain peace, stability, and people-to-people exchanges.
Glimmer of Friendly Interactions to Accumulate Mutual Trust
Take the recent series of positive actions on both sides of the strait as an example. At the end of last year, the mainland announced the automatic extension of the ECFA, Taiwan sent smugglers to the mainland under the "Kinmen Agreement," and Spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council expressed her wishes to visit Taiwan and received a positive response from the Mainland Affairs Council. Mainland China's handling of the Chinese Taipei team's participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics in accordance with the "Olympic model" and the Chinese Taipei team's attendance at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics at the last minute are all signals of goodwill.
Although the above goodwill may only produce a short-lived "glimmer" under the severe situation in the Taiwan Strait, the long-lost mutual trust between the two sides of the strait will eventually need to be accumulated and repaired bit by bit. If the two sides can continue the tacit understanding of abiding by the Olympic agreement, extend it to the existing cross-strait agreements and supporting mechanisms, and take the restoration of cross-strait transactional daily communication as the first step, the trickle will eventually melt and break the ice, breaking the deadlock in cross-strait relations.
During the past two years, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the world. President Tsai has repeatedly described the mutual help between Taiwan and the international community as a "cycle of goodness." Unfortunately, because of the extremely turbulent situation in the Taiwan Strait, even though the two sides have attempted to resolve hostility and create opportunities many times, they could never form a "cycle of goodness." Through the performance at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the mainland deliberately played down the aggressive stereotype by the West, trying to create a positive image of openness, tolerance, self-confidence, and environmental protection. We wish the Beijing Winter Olympics a complete success and hope that the friendly exchanges at the Beijing Winter Olympics will serve as a turning point to build the "cycle of goodness" across the Taiwan Strait to start.
From: https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20220206000098-260301