Qatar: China reference removed from Taiwan

[Jackdaws]

Qatar Alters World Cup App That Treated Taiwan as Part of China

Qatar Alters World Cup App That Treated Taiwan as Part of China

Organizers of November’s soccer World Cup in Qatar appeared to give in to outrage from Taiwan officials and altered a ticketing system that had identified Taiwanese attendees as hailing from China.

www.bloomberg.com

Organizers of November’s soccer World Cup in Qatar appeared to give in to outrage from Taiwan officials and altered a ticketing system that had identified Taiwanese attendees as hailing from China.

Taiwan said that identifying its citizens as Chinese “belittles our country.” It asked the organizers to immediately fix the issue to “respect the rights and dignity of Taiwanese fans who plan to go and watch the games,” Joanne Ou, the spokeswoman for Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry, said via text message.

“This unfriendly move by the organizers against Taiwan not only shifts the focus away from the game, but will also face international judgment and blame, which negatively affects the development of international competitions,” she said.

 

[Nan Yang]

Qatar U turn again.

World Cup: Taiwan sees red over China ‘bullying’ Qatar into use of ‘Chinese Taipei’​

Taipei angered by references to Taiwanese visitors after multiple name changes in visa application system for tournament in Doha

Reuters in Taipei
Mon 20 Jun 2022 22.12 ED

Taiwan has accused China of bullying after organisers of the World Cup in Qatar listed the nationality of Taiwanese visitors applying for an identification card as “Chinese Taipei”.

All World Cup ticket holders must apply for the Hayya card used to identify fans, which also serves as their Qatar visa, but Taiwan’s government originally expressed concern after discovering the online application system made no mention of the island.

It was subsequently listed as “Taiwan, Province of China”, terminology that angers Taiwan’s government and many of its people, and then changed again to just “Taiwan”, earning praise from the government in Taipei.

However, the listing has changed again, to “Chinese Taipei”, the name Taiwan uses to compete in most international sporting events like the Olympics to avoid political problems.

China’s foreign ministry expressed its “appreciation” to the Qatari government’s “adherence to the one-China principle and its handling of relevant matters in accordance with the usual practices of international sports events”.

The one-China principle formally declares Beijing’s claim over Taiwan as a province. Among nations which have formal ties with China, many have their own one-China policy which dictates the level of recognition afforded to Beijing’s principle. Some recognise the Taiwan claim, while others, like the US, only acknowledge that Beijing holds it.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry condemned the move on Monday, saying organisers were “unable to strictly reject the intervention of improper political forces”.

China engaged in “bullying”, and “has repeatedly and blatantly used its fictitious ‘one-China principle’ to continue to belittle Taiwan internationally and create the false impression that Taiwan that belongs to China”, it added.