At Asian Games, let Taiwan compete as Taiwan

The 2026 Asian Games will kick off in Nagoya, Japan, on Friday. At the Opening Ceremony, Taiwan’s athletes will once again be required to enter the stadium under the artificial designation “Chinese Taipei.”

This indignity has gone on long enough.

Before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, more than 131,000 people signed online petitions calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow Taiwan to compete as “Taiwan” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” Although Taiwanese athletes were ultimately required to attend the Opening Ceremony wearing Chinese Taipei uniforms, Japanese TV announcers, who were not bound by IOC rules, introduced the athletes as representing Taiwan. The incident sparked a massive outpouring of appreciation across Taiwan.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Taiwanese men’s badminton doubles team won its second consecutive gold medal, defeating China in the championship match. Unfortunately, the victory was overshadowed by a heavy-handed crackdown on fans holding towels and signs bearing the word “Taiwan.” Images and video of Olympic security staff confiscating the items, as well as one Chinese spectator forcibly snatching a sign from the hands of a Taiwanese fan, went viral around the world, prompting Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a statement condemning the incidents.

During the WBSC Premier12 championship game in November 2024, the captain of Taiwan’s national baseball team, Chen Chieh-hsien, blasted a three-run home run to help secure victory over Japan. As Chen rounded the bases, he celebrated by using his thumbs and index fingers to form a frame around the blank part of his Chinese Taipei jersey where the name “Taiwan” should have appeared but did not. Other teams competing in the Premier12 tournament, such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and the United States, wore their countries’ names in the same spot. In a subsequent interview, Chen explained, “That gesture was meant to tell everyone that we are players from Taiwan.”

Chen’s gesture instantly became a symbol of Taiwanese national pride and determination to succeed despite unfair treatment. After returning home as world champions, Taiwan’s baseball team was congratulated by President William Lai, who posed for photos with Chen while performing the iconic gesture. Coincidentally, Lai’s successful 2024 presidential campaign had featured a baseball-themed logo with the words “Team Taiwan” arching over an image of home plate.

Most Taiwanese do not identify as Chinese, and they are not from Taipei. Instead, they identify as Taiwanese and come from all parts of Taiwan. World maps do not depict a place called Chinese Taipei because it does not exist. The name the world overwhelmingly uses to refer to Taiwan is “Taiwan.”

Forcing Taiwan to compete as Chinese Taipei at international sporting events diminishes Taiwan’s visibility on the international stage and misleads spectators into believing that Taiwan belongs to China. The primary beneficiary is an oppressive, authoritarian regime that openly threatens to use military force to conquer one of Asia’s leading democracies.

The Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan. Taiwan is governed by its own democratically elected government, and the identity of its 23 million people should not be dictated by Beijing.

If Ukrainians were suddenly told that they had to compete in the Olympics under the name “Russian Kyiv,” both Ukraine and the broader international community would protest loudly. Yet the world has become so accustomed to the discriminatory treatment of Taiwanese athletes that what would provoke outrage in other contexts has instead become normalized.

This month’s Asian Games provide an opportune moment to remind the world that this is unacceptable. Leaders of the world’s liberal democracies should support Taiwan’s right to compete under its rightful name and under its own flag. Ordinary citizens can get involved, too, raising their voices to back Taiwan and its athletes in this endeavor. Here are two ways to help.

First, sports fans around the globe can sign the Change.org petition “Let Taiwan Compete as ‘Taiwan’ at LA28.” The petition was originally created for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but is now accepting signatures ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Together with a linked petition, it has attracted more than 135,000 supporters.

Second, anyone attending the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya can cheer for Taiwan by wearing clothing or carrying signs bearing the word “Taiwan.” Nothing in the official list of prohibited items specifically bans such items.

All athletes deserve to compete under the name of the country they call home. So let’s call Taiwan by its proper name, even if the IOC won’t.

Lindell Lucy is a former resident of Tokyo. He started the online petition “Let Taiwan Be Taiwan at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.”