CHINESE PULL: During the Cross-Strait Exchange Games last month, Taiwanese athletes met with China’s Olympic gold winners for photo ops and visited training facilities

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 13, 2018
By: Chung Li-hua and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

China’s hosting of cross-strait sports competitions while strangling Taiwan’s efforts to participate in international competitions demonstrates an attempt to have the nation’s athletes “locked to China,” one legislator said.

On July 25, the East Asian Olympic Committee announced that it was revoking Taichung’s right to host the East Asian Youth Games in August next year, citing Chinese concerns over a bid to change the name of Taiwan’s Olympic team.

More recently, Beijing has sought to obstruct Taiwan’s bid to host this year’s World Rugby Under-19 Championship.

These efforts represent Chinese attempts to tie sports in Taiwan to China, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said on Saturday, adding that Taiwan must counter such actions by seeking greater participation in international sports competitions.    [FULL  STORY]