Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - On Wednesday, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry slammed World Cup organisers in Qatar for suggesting that Ta...
 |
| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - On Wednesday, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry slammed World Cup organisers in Qatar for suggesting that Taiwanese fans could be labelled as Chinese, and asked that "improper political forces" not be allowed to influence in athletic events.
For democratically-governed Taiwan, the topic is especially delicate, as it resents China's claims of sovereignty over it, particularly its bigger neighbor's efforts to claim Taiwanese citizens as Chinese.
All World Cup ticket holders must apply for the Hayya card, which functions as both an identification card and an entry visa to Qatar.
On Tuesday, the application system's nationalities drop-down option featured no entry for Taiwan, and a senior Qatari official predicted that Taiwanese would be identified as Chinese on the card.
By Wednesday, the online system had included "Taiwan, Province of China," a term that enrages both the Taiwanese government and many of its citizens, albeit it did feature a Taiwanese flag, a symbol that China despises.
Joanne Ou, a spokesperson for the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry, said it was "inappropriate to disparage our country" and that organisers should "immediately change their methods."
"The Foreign Ministry reiterates its request on the World Cup organisers not to allow improper political influences to taint simple athletic activities and degrade sporting facilities that respect fair competition and emphasise the athletes' spirit," she added.
Organizers should let sports be sports and provide "a clean World Cup football event" for fans all across the world.
The World Cup organisers did not respond to the comments right away. The Qatari government's communication office did not respond to a request for comment right away.
To avoid political complications with Beijing, Taiwan competes as "Chinese Taipei" in most international sporting events, such as the Olympics.
Qatar, like other countries, recognises only China's government and has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
China has increased pressure on governments and foreign firms to refer to Taiwan as part of China in official papers and on websites, frequently using the terms "Taiwan, Province of China" or "Taiwan, China."
Taiwan has never qualified for the World Cup finals and was eliminated in the second round of Asian qualification for the 2022 event after losing all eight matches last year.
