Taipei: Taiwan's government and opposition have strongly criticized an incident involving two Chinese individuals who allegedly harassed Taiwanese athletes at the 2025 Universiade in Germany. Premier Cho Jung-tai described the act as "political interference."
According to Focus Taiwan, the incident involved a Chinese attempt to obstruct the presentation of congratulatory messages from the Taiwanese government to medal-winning athletes. This was deemed a "blatant provocation," as cited by Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee during a briefing in Taipei. The congratulatory messages, signed by Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao, were meant for taekwondo athletes Hung Jiun-yi, Jung Jiun-jie, and Huang Cho-cheng, who had won silver in the men's team kyorugi.
The athletes are part of Taiwan's national team competing in the Summer World University Games in Germany's Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region. Premier Cho emphasized that the messages represented official recognition of the athletes' performances on the international stage, accusing the Chinese personnel of disregarding Taiwanese efforts.
President Lai Ching-te also weighed in, condemning the harassment in a social media post. He stated that it violated the spirit of sportsmanship and the Universiade's values of openness and respect. He assured that Taiwanese people would continue to handle such provocations with composure and confidence, thereby earning greater international respect.
Footage on social media showed a man and a woman, both believed to be Chinese, attempting to prevent Taiwan's Sports Administration head, James Cheng, from giving the messages to the athletes. The woman questioned whether the messages referred to Taiwan's team as "Chinese Taipei," accusing the Taiwanese delegation of rule violations. However, James Cheng and senior sports official Lan Kun-tien intervened to stop the pair.
Taiwan competes under the name "Chinese Taipei" in international events, following protocols set by the International University Sports Federation and the Olympic Committee's 1981 Lausanne Agreement. This agreement requires Taiwan to use the "Chinese Taipei" designation, prohibiting its use of the national flag and anthem.
Disputes over Taiwan's designation often arise from Beijing's "one China" principle, which considers Taiwan part of its territory. Consequently, Taiwanese athletes face political pressure when asserting their identity internationally.
The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) also condemned the incident, criticizing the Chinese Communist Party's actions and pledging continued support for Taiwanese athletes.
In a video statement, James Cheng revealed that harassment by the Chinese delegation began after Taiwan's men's table tennis team defeated China on July 20. He noted that Chinese officials have since tried to prevent him from presenting government congratulations to medalists and even protested when spectators cheered for "Taiwan."
The actions taken by the Taiwanese delegation were unrelated to Olympic rules, according to the sports official.