This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
Chinese state TV pulled the plug on a live broadcast at the weekend, as democratic Taiwan’s badminton team beat China in the men’s doubles to take Olympic gold in Paris.
Taiwan, which competes in the Olympics as Chinese Taipei, picked up its first gold medal of the Paris Olympics on Sunday as Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin beat out first-seeded Chinese pair Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, relegating them to the silver spot on the podium, to the cheers and shouts of delirious Taiwanese fans.
The match, which was broadcast live in full throughout Taiwan, had its live broadcast cut by China’s state broadcaster CCTV to omit the sections of the match where the Taiwanese pair was clearly winning. The medals ceremony and audience celebrations at the end were also cut.
The Taiwanese victory played out amid ongoing military tensions in the Taiwan Strait over China’s territorial claim on the island, whose 23 million people have no wish to submit to Chinese Communist Party rule, and which has never formed part of the neighboring People’s Republic of China.
It came as Olympics organizers targeted Taiwanese supporters in Paris who displayed any symbol of the island’s statehood, as opposed to the flower-like emblem of the Chinese Taipei team that is deemed acceptable by Beijing.
The state broadcaster’s CCTV16 Olympics channel footage cut off abruptly after the match ended, and only started midway, as the Chinese pair started to make some headway.
The live footage was also apparently directed to ensure that audience shots were kept to a minimum, as the Taiwanese fans yelled “Taiwan!” and “Taiwan No. 1!”
Not the national anthem
In all, the broadcaster only allowed 40 minutes of the 76-minute match to air, switching over to coverage of men’s gymnastics as soon as the match ended.
When the Taiwanese team took the podium, organizers played the National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China, as opposed to the national anthem of the Republic of China, a sovereign state founded with the Chinese revolution of 1911 that still formally controls the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
While the flag raised at Sunday’s ceremony in Paris was the Olympic flag of the Chinese Taipei team rather than the Republic of China flag, Taiwanese fans in the crowd could be heard singing along, with the lyrics clearly audible on the uncensored live footage of the event.
Taiwanese fans told RFA Cantonese that they had had the flag confiscated when they showed up at competition venues, as it isn’t permitted at Olympic events, at China’s insistence.
“I have had the national flag taken away from me on my way inside before,” an Olympics supporter from Taiwan who gave only the nickname Anny said on Sunday. “It was taken away and put in a little dark room.”
She said a placard she was carrying had also been taken away for inspection.
“They said they had to verify that it was relevant to Taiwan before they gave it back to me,” she said.
‘Little pinks’ see red
Meanwhile, Hong Kong media reported only that Liang and Wang had taken a silver medal, but not the names or nationality of the pair who won gold.
The match also drew criticism on Chinese social media from “little pink” nationalists, who accused the umpire of bias against China in three decisions over whether a shot fell inside or outside the permitted lines.
“Hey referee, are you a supporter of independence for Taiwan?” quipped one, while another user commented on a post by state broadcaster CCTV that China had won both gold and silver, in a reference to Beijing’s claim that the island is an “inalienable part of China’s territory.”
Some “little pinks” left comments on posts by Taiwanese media organizations, with one comment reading: “It doesn’t matter who wins: they’re all from China.”
“When will unification happen?” asked another. “I don’t want to see a team from Taiwan at the next Olympics.”
Taiwanese soccer commentator Max Shih said this isn’t the first time CCTV has pulled the plug on a men’s badminton doubles match with Taiwan, citing the defeat of China’s Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen by Lin and Yang at the Tokyo Olympics.
“CCTV can’t win, whether they decide to broadcast it or not,” Shih told RFA Mandarin on Monday. “If they do, and China loses with shots of Taiwanese fans … it’s very awkward for them.”
‘Narrow-minded and intolerant’
“China claims to be a major power, but in fact it’s very narrow-minded and intolerant,” political commentator Chen Pokong said. “That’s why CCTV stops broadcasting when it loses, and broadcasts only when China wins.”
“China claims that politics has no place in the Olympics, but they themselves bring politics to the Olympics,” he said.
He said the state broadcaster is under huge pressure to deliver footage deemed acceptable to Beijing.
“[The Chinese athletes] were told that they could only accept interviews from CCTV,” Chen said. “CCTV mobilized 2,000 people to broadcast and report on these Olympics … so they are under great pressure.”
Chen Li-fu, president of the Taiwan Professors Association, said China appears to lack confidence in its own international image.
“[This leadership] lacks confidence, and fears that they will lose support among the Chinese people if China loses,” Chen said, adding that there was also huge demand to see the match live in China.
“They know this very well, but if they are going to lose, they’d be better off not broadcasting it,” he said. “This will make Xi Jinping a laughingstock when people talk about this.”
