“Chinese Taipei” or “Team Taiwan”? Exploring Sport and National Identity in Contemporary Taiwan

Written by Daniel Yu-Kuei Sun.

Image credit: 08.14「副總統特使團出席巴拉圭共和國新任總統貝尼亞就職典禮」前往大都會花旗球場觀賞球賽 by 總統府/ Flickr, license: CC BY 2.0.

Since the 1960s, sports in Taiwan have emerged as a powerful force shaping the island-nation’s national identity. Over different periods, sports’ articulation with competing versions of nationalism in Taiwan tells a lot about the shifting ideas of “who we are” and “what nation we belong to” over the past decades. The article will provide a brief overview of this intriguing and somewhat complicated relationship, particularly focusing on two widely used terms when referring to Taiwan’s national team, “Team Chinese Taipei” (“中華台北” or more simply, “中華隊”) and “Team Taiwan” (台灣隊).

Readers of this blog may be relatively familiar with the historical context of Taiwan since the end of World War II (the Kuomintang rule after 1945, the democratisation process since the late 1980s, and the era of “Taiwanisation” since the late 1990s, etc.). However, one may still wonder why athletes of Taiwan today have to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei.”  In short, the troubling situation that both China (People’s Republic of China) and Taiwan (still officially Republic of China, ROC) desired to complete in international sporting events while both governments claiming to represent “China” posed a problem for international sporting bodies such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC). For a brief period in the 1960s, athletes of Taiwan participated in the Olympics under the name “Formosa.” But by the early 1970s, while the Kuomintang government was officially expelled from the United Nations, it had become increasingly difficult for the regime to still claim its legitimacy over China while participating in international affairs, including sports. As a result, by 1979, Taiwan had to accept the condition to compete under a new name, “Chinese Taipei”. It would no longer be able to use ROC’s national flag and anthem in the Olympics and most international conventions and events. Instead, the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag and a different song, the National Flag Anthem of the ROC (or the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee’s anthem for the Olympics), are used during international sporting competitions.

Although the name “Chinese Taipei” has been used since the 1980s to signify Taiwan in international sporting events and conventions, in recent years, the term has become increasingly controversial as more and more people find it an unsatisfactory and confusing term and believe it cannot truly represent the Taiwanese people. Geographically, there is not a place called “Chinese Taipei,” and it is almost never used outside the context of international competitions or conventions. To be sure, the creation and existence of “Chinese Taipei” are solely because of the nation’s complex post-war history and uneven relationship with Beijing’s government, and it never truly registered much cultural significance among most Taiwanese people.

Internally, while “Team Chunghwa” (中華隊) remains the most widely used phrase when referring to the national team, using “Team Taiwan” (台灣隊) to replace “Team Chunghwa” has become a more and more trendy practice in recent years in both traditional media outlets and social media platforms. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, journalists were increasingly abandoning the old-fashioned, Chinese-centric way of calling the Taiwanese athletes “中華健兒” (“Chinese strong sons”). Instead, “台灣英雄” (“Taiwanese heroes”) or “台灣之光” (“glories of Taiwan”) are becoming more and more common phrases, signifying a more Taiwan-centred national identity and consensus when it comes to media coverage of major sporting events. Externally, it has also become common for international broadcasters to make clear, unambiguous explanations that “Chinese Taipei” is actually “Taiwan” but not “China,” a phenomenon partially thanks to Taiwan’s growing international visibility during the past decade.

While the Olympics always receive significant public attention thanks to its unmatchable status worldwide, it is indeed in baseball that we have seen the strongest articulation of sport and nationalism in contemporary Taiwan. A modern sport introduced to Taiwan by Japanese colonisers in the late 19th century, baseball continued to thrive after the Japanese left in 1945. Perhaps Taiwan’s most discussed success in sports was its complete domination of Little League Baseball from the late 1960s through the 1990s, winning 17 championships in less than 30 years. Baseball historians have argued that such total domination in youth baseball was directly linked to strong interventions by the authoritarian Kuomintang government during a unique time in Taiwan’s history. For the struggling regime, the constant success of youth baseball teams had become an important venue for promoting the KMT version of Chinese nationalism in Taiwan and abroad during the late 1970s, when it lost most of its support from the international community. Little League Baseball, thus, became one of the few arenas where the authoritarian KMT regime could “win” its political and ideological battle for maintaining its legitimacy both internally and internationally.

After Taiwan went through the process of democratisation in the 1990s, however, the meaning of baseball changed. The Kuomintang was no longer the only powerful political party, and the ideology of Chinese nationalism gradually gave way to a more Taiwan-centred national identity. To put it simply, an important element of Taiwanese nationalism is an emphasis on the differentiation between Chinese and Taiwanese. Politically, Taiwan has not been fully recognised internationally as an independent country, but Taiwanese people argue that the distinction between China and Taiwan is obvious and significant in terms of history, culture, and political system. Under this context, baseball started to become an important cultural symbol because it was uniquely Taiwanese—it was very popular in Taiwan, but it had a marginal presence in mainland China.

It is thus fitting that one of the most noticeable examples of “Team Taiwan” becoming the go-to phrase in sporting events happened during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, a highly regarded international baseball competition featuring top-notch baseball players from around the world. As the host country of one of the preliminary rounds of the tournament, Taiwan (still registered as “Team Chinese Taipei”) played against Cuba, the Netherlands, Italy, and Panama at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in central Taiwan. The passionate and sometimes rowdy fans packed the whole stadium, shouting “Team Taiwan, Team Taiwan” during key moments of each competition. Although Taiwan failed to move on to the next round in this tournament, the team’s respectable performance (defeating Italy and the Netherlands, two strong opponents), the constant and extremely loud cheering, and the spectacular vibe inside the ballpark earned praise from the international media.

Symbolically, the phrase “Team Taiwan” defied the political restrictions “Chinese Taipei” implied and better signified the will of the Taiwanese people. In a sense, it also represents Taiwan’s aspirations for international recognition and respect and such desires were partially realised through its national baseball team.

At the moment, Taiwan continues to face challenges in gaining complete political and diplomatic recognition as an independent political entity, and the currently divided legislature and heightened internal partisan conflicts make it more difficult for Taiwan to present a unified message at international events. However, sports, especially baseball, have the potential to serve as a unifying force, allowing Taiwanese people to find common ground and come together in support of national unity and shared passion.

Daniel Yu-Kuei Sun is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology at Fu Jen Catholic University in New Taipei City, Taiwan. His research interests include sports media, racial issues in sports, sports and transnationalism, and sports in Taiwan.

This article was published as part of a special issue on ‘Sports and Identity’.