To the average spectator, it was just another medal given out to a player at the World Cyber Games Finals, which took place in Seattle last weekend. The winner would step onto the podium, wave their nation’s flag with pride, and receive their medal. But in the case of PGR3 bronze-medalist You-Chen Liu of Taiwan (aka D2C-BURBERRYqq), some competitors didn’t take kindly to his medal win and display of national pride.
As You-Chen stood on the podium carrying his country’s flag, he was serenaded with jeers and boos from some players representing mainland China: “F**k your mother!” “Was his mother a bitch dog?” “What kind of trash flag is that?” “You are not Chinese!” “Do you know that this will result us being banned from the competition!” Clearly, the mainlanders were not happy. Most people would wonder why? Why would players from one country care if someone from another country won? Is this poor sportsmanship? Racism?
To understand, you have to realize that Taiwan’s (Republic of China’s) citizens see themselves as a country separate from mainland China (People’s Republic of China). When the communists took over the mainland, the former leaders fled to Taiwan and created the Republic of China. However, the communists of mainland China see the island of Taiwan as a their own territory and do not recognize the “Republic of China” or any hints of independence.
I don’t want to turn this into a political lecture, but the last statement the mainlanders made may be perplexing to some; why would they be banned from competition? Well, in a country where nothing is done without the direct supervision and go-ahead by the communist government (especially when it concerns video games), the mainland Chinese players were reportedly told that if the Taiwanese flag was ever raised at the World Cyber Games, they would pull their players out of the competition for good. This is the same reason why Taiwan doesn’t have a flag (or even a name) when they participate in the Olympics.
We’ll have to wait and see if the communists stand by their policy of pulling out of the competition. Chances are the event organizers will take the heat, with the possible explanation of this being nothing more than an oversight and an accident, and apologize as much as it takes, as they have held several successful events in mainland China.
Source: [Apple Daily]
The sovereignty of Taiwan is a more complex issue than simply saying that Taiwanese have the right to decide for themselves whether they want to secede and form their own nation or not. The host country has to be legally involved by law of most countries. These laws are not just from the Chinese and related spectrum of nations but to the entire world. For instance Quebec cannot legally formulate itself as a nation through the Canadian constitution even though it wants to go its separate ways. There is some (read many and oft times very loud) opposition to this but the fact remains most nations cannot allow any part of their whole to separate as that would lead to disintegration. Think civil wars which are always fought based on this agenda of splitting. If this were not to happen there are chances that most large nations won’t even exist.
@Carson: despite being a free country one has to realize that there are certain rules and regulations that the WCG itself imposes which details the non-usage of the Taiwanese flag just as the Olympics and every premier event in the world does. This was violated by the Taiwanese gamer.
@ All Americans: understandably no one would have a problem with the Californian flag. It is a part of the US. This is the same reason why China does not have a problem with the Hong Kong flag: it is a part of China. But most blue state Americans would have a problem with the confederate flag being shown albeit the situation being so old, all it would amount to is a few boos. The difference, intent to split the nation would cause reactions. Read again, the laws part from above.
Finally the flag issue is more complex because it is the flag of old china, a regime which was not overthrown by one man but with a populist revolution. More importantly it signifies Taiwanese freedom. Both are notions deep in the mind of the Chinese and would trigger reactions from them, the reason which caused the banning in the first place. I am certain no one would have a problem if a Neo-Nazi German (doubt if any exist so it is just hypothetical) waved his ‘old’ flag on winning in front of the Israeli and Polish delegations and got hurt in the process.
At the end however I must say that the Chinese reacted by going too far. Getting into a fistfight shows lack of restraint. I myself believe they should have been thrown in jail if the punches were thrown. But I do believe the Taiwanese player should also be stripped of his medal.
Kenny, thank you for pumping my blog. The title of my TAM myth blog came from the Columbia School of Journalism TAM retrospective I cited:
http://archives.cjr.org/year/98/5/tiananmen.asp
The Myth of Tiananmen And the Price of a Passive Press
by Jay Mathews
Charles Liu,
You are welcome.
Just try to stop lying, you are NOT a Taiwanese as you claimed earlier.
“The sovereignty of Taiwan is a more complex issue than simply saying that Taiwanese have the right to decide for themselves whether they want to secede and form their own nation or not. The host country has to be legally involved by law of most countries.”
Even if we accept that premise, it is unimportant in regards to Taiwan because Taiwan isn’t a part of China, international lip service to a ‘One China’ policy aside. There is nothing to secede from; in the present day, they are already independent from China in pretty much every way.
“Even if we accept that premise, it is unimportant in regards to Taiwan because Taiwan isn’t a part of China, international lip service to a ‘One China’ policy aside. There is nothing to secede from; in the present day, they are already independent from China in pretty much every way.”
Admitted Taiwan is a special case especially because of a fair amount of years of seperate government but by allowing full legal and political control/seperation, there is the implicit acceptance of a binding timeframe after which any sector of a nation can simply move away from the mainland. Any part of any country then can just declare that 50 years of seperate government can allow it the legal right to seperate from the mainland. Until and unless the mainland and a continuous regime allows for a breakaway I cannot see how it can be justified. And yes they are pretty much independent as far as day to day affairs are concerned but not due to any willingness from the part of the Chinese. Simply put the Chinese feel this very independence should not be allowed.
Also China may be very different politically, but it does share a multitude of similarities foremost being the culture and the language.
Finally China cannot hope to let Taiwan go now especially through a matter of its geopolitical situation and pride and total seperation will be considered a defeat to the solidarity of the Chinese people.
Ever since the Chinese communists took over in ‘49, they’ve been engaging in bully tactics on Taiwan. They bombarded the outer islands of Taiwan in 1958 and only stopped because U.S. President Eisenhower sent reinforcements to bolster the Taiwanese defense. Fast-foward 40 years later, and the communist Chinese are still harboring the same bellicose ‘liberate Taiwan’ mentality, having erected nearly 1,000 missiles aimed directly at Taiwan as proof. Are these the actions of a supposed government that insists on building a ‘harmonious society’? All one needs to do is visit his or her local library and thumb through a history book to witness all the atrocities committed under the bloody totalitarian reign of the Chinese communists (CCP). Their first prize is and has always been Taiwan. And just like the invasion of Tibet, they won’t think twice about killing lives through brutal tactics to take what they claim is inherently theirs, but isn’t.
In exchange for what amounted to broken promises, backstabbing, and routine deception from the communist Chinese, the U.S. sold out Taiwan under the Nixon administration and it’s been downhill ever since. If the West has learned anything over the past 30+ years in dealing with the CCP, it’s the fact that they are masters of manipulation and cannot be trusted. It’s time the U.S. and the West started a new approach in dealing with these thugs from Beijing.
A big reason of why China won’t want Taiwanese independence, is due to what Ali Soomro mentioned with the geopolitical factor.
Once Taiwan goes independent, a major part of China’s ocean freight route will be severed. They cannot afford to pay the tax Taiwan will impose, with them being a power manufacturing country.