"Confirmation Planned on Chinese Communist Party Membership Status"
A Taiwanese Taekwondo athlete held the Chinese national flag, the Five-star Red Flag, at an awards ceremony.
According to Taiwanese media such as Liberty Times on the 22nd, Taiwanese Taekwondo athlete Li Dongxian was revealed to have taken out the Five-star Red Flag at the awards ceremony for the men's Poomsae individual event at the 2023 Jeonbuk Asia-Pacific Masters Taekwondo Competition held at Muju Taekwondowon from the 14th to 15th. This competition is a festival for recreational athletes worldwide, with 14,177 participants from 71 countries around the world.
At the time, Li participated in the competition as a Taiwanese national but promoted China by holding the Five-star Red Flag after winning the bronze medal.
A Taiwanese Taekwondo athlete holding the Five-starred Red Flag at the medal ceremony after winning the bronze medal. [Photo by Weibo·Yonhap News]
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the Taiwanese agency responsible for mainland China affairs, stated regarding Li's actions, "We will ascertain the facts such as whether he has joined the Chinese Communist Party and whether he has engaged in organizational activities for China in Taiwan, and handle the matter according to the law."
According to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area and related regulations, if a Taiwanese person joins the Chinese Communist Party and becomes a party member or takes on duties in the Chinese party, government, or military, a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 4.3 million to 21.57 million KRW) can be imposed.
They also added that they plan to consider amending this act to prohibit Taiwanese athletes from engaging in political propaganda for China when participating in competitions or standing on awards podiums.
Deputy Minister Cheng Yuan-chan stated, "He applied to participate in this Masters competition as an individual without applying for athlete selection through the (Taiwan) Taekwondo Association or the Sports Administration."
He continued, "It has been understood that Li has lived in China for a long time and joined the Communist Party," and "The government will handle the matter according to relevant laws and regulations."
Legislator Liu Sufang urged authorities the day before to investigate whether Li had acquired Chinese nationality.
She also pointed out that if Li wore the 'Chinese Taipei' uniform for the purpose of winning a medal, Taiwan should inform the Korean side that it did not dispatch Li and cancel his award eligibility.
In response, Taiwanese media reported that Li Dongxian joined the Chinese Communist Party on July 1 last year and that he had previously won a bronze medal at a Taekwondo Poomsae competition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the end of 2017, where he also held the Chinese Five-star Red Flag on the podium.
Huang Yuting training in the Chinese national team uniform. [Photo by Taiwan Liberty Times and Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, another legislator mentioned that disciplinary measures could also be considered for Taiwanese speed skating national team athlete Huang Yuting, who posted a video on social networking services (SNS) showing her training in the Chinese national team uniform at the Beijing Winter Olympics last year.
At that time, Huang received a disciplinary action from Taiwanese authorities suspending her from competitions and training assistance for two years, and prior to that, she announced her retirement, saying she was "physically and mentally exhausted."
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