Taiwan party chief threatens Beijing Olympic boycott

It's highly unlikely that the Communists will agree to let the Taiwanese team participate in the Games under the label 'Chinese Taipei'.

Daily Star: 05/06/07 -The Democratic Progressive Party, which wants more independence from China, will push for the right conditions to send athletes to Beijing but will not let China use the games as a way to downgrade Taiwan's status, said Chairman You Si-kun (who formerly spelled his Romanized name as Yu shyi-kun).

"The party hopes the country's competitors can participate in the Olympic Games, but China still uses the belittlement of sovereignty to put pressure on Taiwan, defining Taiwan as a local government in China," You said in an interview with Reuters. "This is something we have absolutely no way of accepting."

You mentioned no specific actions by Beijing but said anything that makes Taiwan appear to be part of China might cause the party to recommend a boycott.

In April, Taiwan rejected the Beijing Olympic torch because the route linked Taipei to Hong Kong, a special region of China.

Taiwan can participate in the Games as "Chinese Taipei", the result of a compromise reached in the late 1970s to allow mainland China to return to the Olympic movement.

Because of pressure from China, which has widespread diplomatic support for its demands, Taiwan cannot join the United Nations or the World Health Organisation -- restrictions that have further upset the ruling party.

China has seen self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory since the civil war of 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists sent their Nationalist rivals fleeing to the island. Officials in Beijing have threatened force to make Taiwan return and said it would never give up its quest for unification.