A new group known as Team Taiwan has been created to lobby for a new flag and anthem to be used by Taiwanese athletes at the Olympic Games.

Taiwan has been competing under the name “Chinese Taipei” at the Olympics since 1984.

“While [Taiwan] has been suppressed internationally, there are still a lot of areas we can fight for as long as we want to speak up for Taiwan’s status and rights in the international community," New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐), who doubles as the Team Taiwan spokesperson, told a press conference at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.

Team Taiwan is calling for public submissions for new flag designs and ideas for a national anthem. Many Taiwanese do not support the use of Taiwan's official Nationalist flag.

Lin said the flag that Taiwan uses at the Olympics should be more representative of the country. The current flag, which combines the Kuomintang (KMT) emblem with the Olympic rings, should be replaced, he says.

Lin said he will also push for reform at the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee and other related government departments.

Chen Yung-hsing (陳永興), Team Taiwan organizer and Taiwan People News Culture and Art Foundation president, said he hopes the name “Taiwan” can be used in international organizations and global events.

“It's hard for us to accept that we don’t have our own flag [at the Olympics],” he said.

Chen said he started Team Taiwan because China has been preventing Taiwan from participating fully in the international community. Among other incidents, China is believed to have pressured the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to not invite Taiwan to its assembly.

“We are looking forward to seeing a ‘Team Taiwan’ flag in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” Chen said.

First Editor: Olivia Yang
Second Editor: Edward White