Formosano madrileño台灣囝仔佇馬德里

前陣子的2008奧運，讓台灣人又染上每四年就會來潮一次的體育亢奮症。
可能有人要問我為什麼要把這種「全民體育」的風氣講得這麼負面，我只能請大家稍安勿躁，聽我把話講完。

一場以國家作為參賽主體的帶大型國際運動競賽，常常是讓民族主義深入體育活動的一個溫床。這種時候要講「體育歸體育，政治歸政治」或者「別讓政治牽扯上體育」，說實在的，除了競賽場上的各國選手以外，我還真不曉得誰會相信這些睜眼說的瞎話。當運動選手代表著自己的國家而在國際場合上出賽，你要說這不會帶有政治色彩？

大家冷靜回想一下，不到一個月之前，上至立委政客，下至市井小民，整個台灣社會為了棒球國家代表隊在奧運場上的表現，是如何的瘋狂？當賽況先盛後衰時，又有多少人是成天在msn的暱稱上喊著「國恥」、「丟臉」、「連『大陸隊』都輸」、「不要回來了」....（這也就是我為何說台灣人每四年就會染上一次的「體育亢奮症」，夠亢奮吧？）

一場選手出賽都被稱為「國家代表隊」的國際運動競賽，不就是代表著「國家」這個最具政治性的名詞嗎？這也說明了為什麼台灣人會這麼對於前進奧運的國家代表隊寄予如此的厚望，雖然大部分台灣的媒體和民眾因為長年接受國民黨一脈相傳的神話式教育影響，還是不願意把錯誤的「中華隊」改口，但台灣不會有人否認這支隊伍就是我們台灣的國家代表隊，這支肩負著「台灣戰神、台灣精神」可以讓台灣揚名國際、代表台灣的希望隊伍。


想起前陣子在台灣國家隊許多看好奪牌的項目都夢碎而歸之際，有人轉寄來一則笑話，大意就是分析為何比賽會輸掉的原因，笑話的內容是這樣寫的：


中華隊輸掉棒球的原因...單純是因為名字取不好而已
 Chinese Taipei中華太背(輸一分的比賽好幾場，你說背不背)
 應該叫做Chinese Taiwan中華太旺(可惜被阿共識破，不準我們用)

 一切攏係阿共仔ㄟ陰謀啦....

這個分析當然跟選手實力、臨場表現、訓練成果沒有任何關係，應該就是博君一笑。但是，我想不懂的是，為什麼想出這個笑話的人，還是得繞著"Chinese Taipei"跟"Chinese Taiwan"這兩個名稱上打轉？難道就不能想一個不用加上"Chinese"的東西來嗎？那個國家代表隊的名字前面還需要硬加上一個強調民族的形容詞在前面的？難道「掐你死 太背」或者「踹你死 太背」喊起來會比「太旺」喊出來好聽嗎？

在最新一期美國卡內基基金會所發行的「外交政策」期刊西班牙文版，當中有一篇名為「世界『悶』的奧運國家代表隊名單」的文章（請恕我用「悶」來翻譯這裡的這個"Los peores"，因為這樣應該才能更貼近作者的意思，更傳神些！）。

這篇文章介紹了五個世界悶的奧運參賽國（印度、委內瑞拉、以色列、台灣與秘魯），並分析為何這些參賽國可以名列世界五大「悶鍋奧運參賽隊伍」的原因。作者很簡單卻很清楚地，分析了用「掐你死 太背」或者「踹你死 太背」之名參賽的台灣，為什麼會榮登「世界五大悶」奧運參賽國代表隊的原因。為了讓一些不諳西班牙文的朋友也能理解，我就老毛病不改地雞婆翻譯了一下這段：

Clasificación: En el recuento, Taiwán está a la altura de Mongolia, cuya economía es aproximadamente la centésima parte de la suya. Taiwan tiene la mitad de medallas que Etiopía, que, como la isla del Pacífico, obtuvo su primer trofeo en los Juegos de Roma en 1960.

分類：根據計算，台灣在奧運會的成績表現是跟蒙古相當，雖然蒙古在經濟上大約是只有台灣百分之一的實力。地處太平洋上的台灣島，得牌數大約是衣索匹亞的一半，第一次得獎的紀錄是1960年的羅馬奧運。

¿Dónde está el fallo? El estatus olímpico de Taiwan siempre ha encontrado rechazo. Durante años, la China continental boicoteó los Juegos en protesta por la participación de Taiwan. Los líderes del Partido Comunista lograron su objetivo en 1979, cuando el COI acordó que la isla nunca había sido un país olímpico reconocido y que tenía que competir como "Taipei chino". Asimismo, Taiwan tiene que desfilar con una bandera olímpica especial y sólo puede tocar el “Himno nacional de la bandera" en las pocas ocasiones en las que sus atletas suben al podio. Además, muchos taiwaneses culpan a jueces procoreanos de arrebatarles medallas en taekwondo.

台灣人無法感到光榮的原因何在：台灣在奧運會的地位始終是有爭議的，中國由於台灣長期參與奧運，中國大陸都杯葛奧運表示抗議。1979年，由於國際奧會認定台灣不再被承認是國際奧會會員國，中共領導人終於得以如願加入，而台灣應要求改名為「Taipei chino」參加比賽，同時必須使用一面專為奧運而設計的旗幟作代表。在十分罕見有台灣選手奪得金牌能夠上台領獎的場合，也僅能演奏「國旗歌」。另外，（在雅典奧運時）台灣民眾也抱怨裁判偏袒南韓，以致於失掉跆拳道項目的獎牌。


Perú
(......)

*Nota: Desde el punto de vista legal, Taiwan no es un país, aunque mantiene una independencia de facto.

註：「雖然台灣擁有事實獨立(de facto)的現實，但從國際法角度而言，台灣稱不上是一個國家。」

看完這段分析，不免讓我一想，所以，原來我們台灣已經在所有奧運參賽國當中，擁有了另外一個新的世界排行重要地位，就是「最悶鍋的參賽隊伍」之一。想想不管是「掐你死 太背」或者「踹你死 太背」，聽起來都是注定「死」注定「背」的命，你說這樣會不悶嗎？保證「世界悶」的咧！


這會又讓我想起，前幾天一位熱心的學妹，寄來一篇「同業來稿」，主要是探討到底這個讓台灣人注定在奧運會要當「大悶鍋代表隊」的偉大招牌「掐你死 太背」或者「踹你死 太背」，當年是怎麼出現這個光怪陸離、音譯起來又超帶衰的名字？這段文章的原文因為是用英文（一種我幾近退化的語言）所寫成，我想看官們的英文比我好的人太多了（不過區長馬先生應該會覺得他的英文更好，不要跟他爭），我也就不再班門弄斧翻譯這段文章，請大家自己看了：

原來國際社會原先是favor我們的

且希望我們用 Chinese Taiwan名義進入國際

How ‘Chinese Taipei’ came about

By Catherine K. Lin

Taipei Times
Tuesday, Aug 05, 2008, Page 8

After the Republic of China (ROC) lost its UN seat in 1971, there have been many chances, especially throughout the 1970s, for the ROC to have gained recognition as “Taiwan” in international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), thus putting it on equal footing with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

In researching my doctoral dissertation Nationalism in International Politics: The Republic of China’s Sports Foreign Policy-Making and Diplomacy from 1972 to 1981, I examined newly opened materials relating to international sports organizations at the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The materials recorded many instances of the international sports community offering to allow the ROC to use the name “Taiwan,” so as to avoid conflict with the PRC’s use of the name “China” and its status as the sole representative of China in the international sports community.

Unfortunately, these opportunities were spurned, primarily because of the Chinese nationalism asserted by the top leadership of the ROC government during the decade, a time during which the Taiwanese had little say in their government’s foreign policy decision-making. The ROC leadership insisted that there be some kind of “Chinese-ness” to the name under which the country competed. “Taiwan” was simply unacceptable to the authoritarian ROC government, therefore an ambiguous “Chinese Taipei” name was created in March 1981.

The most telling example of an opportunity that was lost is the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Then-IOC chairman Lord Killanin negotiated with the Canadian government several times from May to July 1976. By the eve of the 1976 Games’ opening ceremony, the IOC compromised by allowing the ROC to use its national flag and anthem but under the name “Taiwan,” or under the Olympic or no-name plaque. However, then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) declared that each element of the “trinity” — national name, flag and anthem — was de rigueur. IOC and Canadian authorities’ suggestions on using “Taiwan,” the Olympic, or the no-name plaque were all unacceptable to the ROC at the time. As a result, the ROC withdrew completely from the 1976 Olympic Games.

Another example of the international sports community’s offer of the name “Taiwan,” as evidenced in the ministry’s archives, came from International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) honorary treasurer Fred Holder’s letter to the secretary-general of the ROC Track and Field Association, Chi Cheng (紀政), on May 4, 1978. The letter pointed out: “My concern is that if both the Peking organization and the Taipei organization insist on being considered the only governing body for all-China, the majority view is likely to support Peking, simply because of the huge difference in population between the mainland and Taiwan.”

“On the other hand, if your association can accept the change of name to Taiwan, there will be widespread support for your association as the only effective governing body in the ‘territory’ of Taiwan … A refusal to change is likely to be interpreted as a refusal to accept a limitation of your jurisdiction to the island of Taiwan. Many member federations of the IAAF find it difficult to understand the reluctance to affiliate as Taiwan, when the name Taiwan is so widely used in promoting and identifying trade products. Under the name Taiwan there can be no doubt or confusion, and you have a clear right to continue in IAAF membership.”

There are numerous examples in the ministry’s archives of arguments concerning why “Taiwan” was not acceptable to the ROC government during the period. One repeated contention recorded in the ministry reports is that both parts of divided China are Chinese territories and the people in one part are no less Chinese than those in the other. Another argument holds that the jurisdiction of the ROC Olympic Committee (ROCOC) includes Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu in addition to Taiwan, and thus the name “Taiwan” does not reflect the “territorial extent” of the ROCOC. Furthermore, although it is true that most products from the ROC are labeled “made in Taiwan,” the trade practices of the ROC are such that the regional area of production is used for labeling. Some wines from Jinmen are labeled “made in Kinmen,” just as some perfume is labeled “made in Paris” and not “made in France.” Finally, it was argued that the people of the ROC were Chinese and not “Taiwanese,” so the word Taiwan was not appropriate.

The ROC government finally formulated the name “Chinese Taipei,” instead of accepting the offer of “Taiwan,” because “Chinese Taipei” signified an uncertain boundary that could exceed the ROC’s actual territory of control of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, whenever the ROC government wished to assert it.

Killanin explained clearly where this “uncertain boundary” conception came from as the Nagoya resolution establishing the name “Chinese Taipei” was being considered by the IOC executive board in October 1979: “The Constitution of the Republic of China Olympic Committee [1973] has also been studied. Article 1 of this Constitution reads — ‘The committee shall be called the Republic of China Olympic Committee, hereafter referred to as ROCOC. Its headquarters shall be situated where the national government has its seat, which is at present located in the city of Taipei.’”

“It appears that whilst the Olympic Committee in Taipei does not claim jurisdiction in any other area other than the surrounding islands, this article infers that it would move its seat with the Taipei government, which, unlike the Olympic Committee there, claims to be the government of China.”

In other words, “Chinese Taipei,” the name of the capital of the ROC, could one day become “Chinese Nanjing.”

“Chinese Taipei” could signify the “begonia leaf,” or boundary of the ROC, whereas “Taiwan” would unambiguously indicate the boundary of “Taiwan,” or “Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.”

The ROC, the IOC and the PRC eventually agreed on the name “Chinese Taipei,” in English — one of the official languages of the IOC — on March 23, 1981, although on an “agree to disagree” basis. The agreement was actually signed only between the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee and the IOC, without the PRC participating. The IOC agreed with the ROC that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee was on equal footing with all other national Olympic committees in the IOC.

While the PRC had already changed its policy through the 1970s from advocating complete expulsion of the ROC to a willingness to co-exist in international sports organizations — the PRC always regarded the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee as a local body of the PRC Olympic committee. The PRC policy change was in fact a more relentless strategy, because it demonstrated considerable confidence after the US-PRC normalization of relations in 1979, and at the same time confirmed that Beijing already understood that the international organizations could not renounce the membership universality principle.

In addition, with the close of the Cultural Revolution, PRC domestic pressure to have scientific and sports exchanges with the outside world increased, leading to the country’s entry into international organizations.

Perhaps most importantly, the PRC also realized that the ROC’s urge to stay in the international community was growing stronger day by day. If China pushed too hard, Taiwan might seek de jure independence from China, which would be the ultimate defeat for the PRC’s reunification agenda. Therefore the PRC conditionally allowed Taiwan to participate in international affairs, which was the most pragmatic choice under the prevailing circumstances.



Catherine K. Lin received a doctorate in diplomatic history in May from Georgetown University and is an associate research fellow at the Division of International Affairs of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.

一詞時的一些心得，才發現西語圈國家面對英文裡「Chinese Taipei」這個詞時，可以很自作聰明地自動翻成"China Taipei"（中國台北，這個讓沒有脖子的熊在中國爭得臉紅脖子粗、還有很多台灣人認為很該死的字眼）。當台灣一群人為了「要中華台北、不要中國台北」跟北京爭得你死我活，還有人爭得「中華台北」為此還洋洋得意（又不是爭到「台灣」）之際，其實在地球的另一邊，在號稱世界三大語種的西班牙語世界裡，英文Chinese Taipei這個字早就被人家直接定義成大多數台灣人最不愛的「China Taipei中國台北」。大概就是因為沒幾個人懂西班牙文、沒人看見，所以沒人因此而爭。有時想想，人可能真的是「眼不見為淨」，很多時候，事情就是這麼回事。


另外，前幾個星期新聞上老是提到，「奧運模式」被許多國家自動「比照辦理」，把"Chinese Taipei"這個名稱用來當作台灣的稱呼詞，或者直接把「太旺Taiwan」（或ROC）改成這個「掐你死 太背」或者「踹你死 太背」。甚至有則新聞還報導某位美國籍學者自美國搭機前往台灣，因為這個要命該死的「掐你死/踹你死」字眼，讓航空公司認定台灣屬於中國領土，還按美國人前往中國的現行需要簽證的規定，要這位去過台灣不下N次的美國學者要申請「中國簽證」才能去台灣。


其實，這件事情看在因為在西班牙的工作關係常得在西班牙跟航空公司打交道的我眼中，可是一點都不意外，因為在國際民航業者協會(IATA)提供給全球所有航空公司的「 Timatic(民航及轉機旅行證件及簽證資訊查詢)」系統裡面，只要地勤櫃臺人員輸入代號「TW」查詢，系統內會將台灣的正式名稱以「Chinese Taipei」顯示，既不是Taiwan，也找不到Republic of China。這個「Timatic」的系統是國際航協IATA所建制，全球同步連線，並與各國政府相關部門聯繫更新，是目前全球各航空公司機場櫃臺地勤人員查詢旅客搭機資格、護照及簽證需求的重要依據。根據該系統資料，台灣所使用的正式稱呼即使用所謂奧運模式，為Chinese Taipei，兩碼代號為tw（China則使用CN），其他並無任何有註記為Taiwan的任何項目。

所以，當台灣旅客拿著護照內頁國籍欄寫著「REPUBLIC OF CHINA」的護照辦理登機報到手續，卻遇到不知情的航空公司地勤人員，拿著這本他們口中「China」的護照，手裡猛按著代號「CN」去查，就會出現一大堆旅客意想不到的訊息，例如：倫敦轉機需要申請轉機簽證、只憑申根簽證不得入境瑞士、香港轉機需要申請轉機簽證.....然後，可以預見旅客必然是一陣的錯愕（因為原本不存在這些問題，卻在機場遇上），這時候我的工作就經常得是銜命去跟航空公司人員「上課」，甚至是機上教學，得慢慢說明這本護照不是那個有十三億人口的China，還要一步步地指導地勤人員試著在指令欄輸入「TW」而不是「CN」......一回生、二回熟，因為工作上的需要，現在我已經是處理此類問題的「達人」了。

想到這裡不免感嘆，當台灣外交部一面喊著「外交休兵」，一面還要為了「奧運模式」被外國「自行比照辦理」，成天忙著訓令各地外館澄清、溝通、滅火的時候，卻似乎忘記了IATA這個終年每天24小時、無時無刻都與在全球各地旅行的台灣國人息息相關的重要機構，其實也是個「自行比照奧運模式辦理」的「大喀」，每天在世界許多角落飛來飛去的台灣人，無時無刻都得面臨這個系統。

想要實際試試看這個TIMATIC系統的朋友，可以按這裡進入該系統試著查詢看看。

或許，不讓我們台灣在奧運上面可以正大光明喊「太旺」，要我們得用「掐你死 太背」或者「踹你死 太背」，也真與台灣在國際上面對中國的遭遇處境有那麼些巧合。