Outcry as Taiwan snubs Olympic torch

Taiwan's decision to reject the Olympic torch provoked an outcry at home Friday as the opposition and the media accused the government of letting politics interfere with sport. Beijing Games organisers announced Thursday that the flame would visit the island after sweeping through the cities of Pyongyang and Ho Chi Minh, before moving on to Hong Kong and Macau. President Chen Shui-bian told reporters on Friday that relevant authorities deemed the plan unacceptable because "Taiwan's status as a sovereignty country cannot be dwarfed." But opposition politicians were quick to condemn the decision. "This is a rare opportunity to put Taipei and Taiwan in the international stage. We really regret losing this opportunity," said Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party. Presidential hopeful and former KMT chief Ma Ying-jeou blamed the government for rejecting the torch on political grounds. "The (ruling) Democratic Progressive Party is going to hold its primary and now comes the decision that is against the mainstream opinions in the international community," Ma said. "It shows the government has little confidence in itself. The Republic of China (Taiwan's formal name) is a sovereign country and we need not be afraid of being belittled," he added. KMT lawmaker Huang Chih-hsiung, a silver medalist in taekwondo at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said the DPP should take the blame if the International Olympic Committee revoke Taipei's membership as a punishment. Taiwanese media were also critical of the rejection of Olympic torch, arguing that politics and sport do not mix. "The government says time and again that it wants to return to the international arena but now is it going to resort to boycotting the Olympics to highlight Taiwan's sovereignty?" the United Daily News said in a commentary Friday. "Isn't the government going too far in driving away the torch and denying itself in order to manipulate the elections?" it asked. Some sports organisations, meanwhile, voiced their support for the decision. "We absolutely back the government to protect our country from being belittled by politics," said Kuo Chin-hsin, secretary-general of the Chinese Taipei Taekwondo Association. China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war but Beijing still considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification. Taipei last hosted a leg of the torch relay in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. The authorities had demanded that the island be included on the international route rather than as part of China's domestic relay which they feel would imply the island was part of China, as Beijing insists.