Why do Hong Kong, China and Taiwan have separate teams at the Olympic Games?
- Taiwan have marched under the name of ‘Chinese Taipei’ since the 1984 Olympic Games after a long political battle for recognition with the mainland
- After the 1997 handover, Hong Kong are known as ‘Hong Kong, China’ in international sports under ‘one country, two systems’
As the Hong Kong team marched into the Maracana Stadium in Rio for opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics, someone in the crowd asked: “Why does Hong Kong have a separate team to China?”
A generation ago, that would never be asked because the memory of the former British colony’s handover to China in 1997 would be fresh, along with the deal between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and China that Hong Kong would be allowed to compete as a separate sporting entity under “one country, two systems” and under the name “Hong Kong, China”.
Mainland and Hong Kong athletes who win gold would stand on the top podium to the Chinese national anthem, while the Olympic anthem and special flag is raised for Taiwanese winners. China’s official Olympic history goes back to 1932 in Los Angeles, while Hong Kong’s first Olympics as a British colony was in Helsinki in 1952 when China also made its first appearance under communist rule. Taiwan’s history is a bit more complicated, having represented “China” for two decades while mainland China boycotted the Games.
In the beginning
This special arrangement for multiple China teams is a product of the twists and turns of the country’s modern history, a legacy first of colonialism in China, and then the Chinese civil war.
