The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on the 26th night was grand and meaningful, despite the heavy rain, the enthusiasm on-site was not diminished. The Taiwan delegation entered in alphabetical order with the letter “T”. The French host, during the live broadcast, specially explained that “Chinese Taipei” is “the Taiwan we are familiar with”.
According to the Central News Agency, the Paris Olympics held the opening ceremony on the evening of the 26th at 7:30 pm local time, which was the first time on the Seine River, with delegations from various countries entering by boat in a 6-kilometer voyage.
The Taiwan delegation, comprised of 39 members, was led by the martial arts expert Sun Chen and badminton queen Tai Tzu-ying.
Chinese Taipei was not sorted alphabetically with ‘C’, nor listed after the PRC, but was in alphabetical order with ‘T’. The Taiwan team boarded the 74th boat, following Tajikistan and sharing a boat with Tanzania and Chad.
Facing the relatively unfamiliar international audience with the name “Chinese Taipei,” the host of France 2 TV emphasized, during the live broadcast, that “Chinese Taipei is the Taiwan we are familiar with”.
The host then explained, “But in international competitions, they compete under the name ‘Chinese Taipei’, and the Olympic flag is the Olympic five rings,” followed by an explanation that the flag used by the Chinese Taipei delegation in the Games uses the colors red, blue, and green.
Regarding the entry order of Chinese Taipei and the host’s special explanation to the millions of viewers watching the live broadcast in France, Zheng Shizhong, head of the Sports Administration of the Republic of China, pointed out to the Central News Agency that this shows that “Taiwan does not belong to the People’s Republic of China”.
According to the Lausanne Agreement, the English name of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee is “Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee”, and its emblem and flag have been approved by the International Olympic Committee, enjoying the same rights as other NOCs.
The anthem and protocol ordering of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee were confirmed by the International Olympic Committee in 1983. The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee is listed under “T” with the English code TPE, following the order in the Olympic Directory.
Despite the heavy rain in Paris that night, the Taiwan team, dressed in the outfit ranked as one of the top ten most stylish designs by Forbes magazine, still showed great enthusiasm.
When the Taiwan team entered, Sun Chen and Tai Tzu-ying waved the flag excitedly in the rain, while other athletes and coaches happily waved at the camera.