Taiwan = Chinese Taipei at Olympics?

Originally posted by chinawhite
Your post states that the mainland chinese really care about taiwanese independence and its a act by the government. Who are they representing then

Hm, I can see why this part was confusing because of what I wrote...

I did not mean that all mainland Chinese care about Taiwan independence against the wishes of their government. To put what I said more clearly... EVEN IF a PARTICULAR competitor or athletic committee member from mainland China does not care at all about the Taiwan independence issue, that person will uphold the policies of the mainland Chinese government otherwise that person will not be able to compete for mainland China. I'm not generalizing in this section that all mainland Chinese think differently than their government, just trying to explain how politics get involved in sports at an individual level for people who wonder why. Likewise, I tried to express in the next section that a Taiwan competitor will probably accept competing under the name "Chinese Taipei", not because he/she believes that all of Taiwan should be called Chinese Taipei, but because he/she wants to continue competing and will follow the rules.

I will leave it to you experts to decide on why China as an entire country pursues its policies and why Taiwan as an entire country accepts them (in so far as it does). I'm not really into politics.

I personally did not like using the name "Chinese Taipei," but the reason was because I thought "Taiwan" sounded better and people could find it on the map easier. However, many of my American friends confuse "Taiwan" for "Thailand" anyway.

Originally posted by CeramicCat
However, Taiwan is not part of China and never will be; we are totally different people."

As in how?

You will have to ask the kids in Taiwan. I think many kids are very materialistic these days, so maybe they think mainland Chinese use different colored iPods than them?

Great response. I was thinking a little bit along different lines but that explains it.

Originally posted by CeramicCat
You will have to ask the kids in Taiwan. I think many kids are very materialistic these days, so maybe they think mainland Chinese use different colored iPods than them?

My family friend from taiwan is living in my house at the momment but his only been there since 13 and studies in australia and now 20. He said he doesn't care or doesn't know.

He lives in taipei. Im not sure if its that city or something but he doesn't seem lifely. Someone people are brought up like this but i dunno. His father lived in putian in fujian.

Whats your family background if you dont mind. and are you a mainlander or lived their originally?

Originally posted by chinawhite
Great response. I was thinking a little bit along different lines but that explains it.

Originally posted by CeramicCat
You will have to ask the kids in Taiwan. I think many kids are very materialistic these days, so maybe they think mainland Chinese use different colored iPods than them?

My family friend from taiwan is living in my house at the momment but his only been there since 13 and studies in australia and now 20. He said he doesn't care or doesn't know.

He lives in taipei. Im not sure if its that city or something but he doesn't seem lifely. Someone people are brought up like this but i dunno. His father lived in putian in fujian.

Whats your family background if you dont mind. and are you a mainlander or lived their originally?

Taipei folks seem more reserved people usually. I can not get a nod or a smile from people on the street most of the time even in response to my greetings. I've chatted w. a lot with people about this. I'm not qualified to give a full cultural reason for it, but a few people from other parts of Taiwan have said that people are more open elsewhere.

One thing I have noticed is they are very afraid of scams so they get used to keeping to themselves (in general). I even witnessed a motor accident with a old lady on a scooter who fell and lay in an intersection. No one cared; I had to struggle with a store clerk to go out and take a look. In the west, people would either rush to help her or finish her off and take her money They actually told me that I was foolish to get involved; it could be a scam (which it wasn't) or I'd get hauled into court as a witness. I'm just offering that as a gauge for the level of reservedness in some places in Taipei. Once they know you well, they are exceedingly friendly.

I would guess that even the average Taipei party girl in the microskirt, knee high boots, and the furry jackets with the glittering belts, would be more reserved than the California twinkies who grew up in the U.S.

My parents are not part of the 15% mainlander group. They call themselves native, but we are not descended from the aboriginees so I don't think we should claim that either... (eg. native American means a different thing in the U.S.) Most people don't know it, but many of the older 80% "native" generation harbor a resentment of seeing the Taiwanese flag in competition (or anywhere) because it represents the 15% Nationalist faction that came over and took over years ago. They call it the "Kuoming Tang Flag". Since I did not grow up there, I don't have the same resentment. I think that Taiwan has a LOT more to worry about outside of the country; they should not waste time with internal division. I realize I wasn't there to witness a lot of the turmoil such as the 2/28 incident that led them to present times though, so I wisely keep my American mouth shut