Olympic Fans Happy at French TV's "Taiwan" Mention
A French TV station broke taboos when it used the name "Taiwan" to describe the Chinese Taipei Olympic team during an opening ceremony broadcast.
THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN UPDATED: The previous version said Chu Mu-yen was the first Taiwanese athlete to win gold at the Olympics. That honor belongs to female taekwondo fighter Chen Shih-hsin.
THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN UPDATED: The previous version said Chu Mu-yen was the first Taiwanese athlete to win gold at the Olympics. That honor belongs to female taekwondo fighter Chen Shih-hsin.
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NewsTranscript
00:00On the sidelines of the Paris Olympics, words that could have caused trouble if they'd been
00:04spoken at any of the official venues.
00:07Under a 1981 agreement, Taiwan's national team is barred from using the national flag
00:11or anthem at the Games, and they must compete under the name Chinese Taipei.
00:16China says Taiwan is its rightful territory, and does not tolerate anything, even a name,
00:21that could imply otherwise.
00:23But for the second Summer Games in a row, a local anchor in the host city has explained
00:27to viewers watching the opening ceremony that Chinese Taipei is Taiwan.
00:33At first, Taiwanese sports fans in Paris couldn't believe it.
00:48Athletes themselves are wary about weighing in.
00:50Just bringing a Taiwan flag to an international sporting event can be grounds for disqualification,
00:55as Taiwan's first-ever Olympic gold medalist explains.
01:17But to some fans, even a nod of recognition on an Olympic feed is welcome.
01:22And Taiwanese officials in Paris for the Olympics say they look forward to more international
01:26sporting fans getting to know Taiwan through the Games.
01:51With a 60-strong team of athletes in Paris, there's hope this will happen soon.
01:56Eason Chen and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.