The Guardian: Qatar sparks new Taiwan-China crisis
The row between Qatar and Taiwan over participation in the 2022 World Cup is escalating against the backdrop of Doha angering fans in Taiwan following multiple changes to their country’s name in the visa application system for the tournament.
Deliberate abuse
The British newspaper, The Guardian, said that Qatar failed to resolve the crisis and chaos reigned after the organizers of the World Cup in Qatar included the nationality of Taiwanese visitors applying for an identity card in the name of “Chinese Taipei”.
It continued: All World Cup ticket holders must apply for the life card used to identify fans, which also serves as their Qatar visa, but the Taiwan government originally expressed concern after discovering that the online application system did not mention Al Jazeera in the first place.
It added: that it was later inserted as “Taiwan, Province of China”, a term that angers Taiwan’s government and many of its people, and was changed back to “Taiwan”, only to be praised by the government in Taipei.
However, the list had once again changed, to “Chinese Taipei”, the name Taiwan used to compete in most international sporting events such as the Olympics to avoid political problems.
The newspaper reported that the changes and confusion that took place infuriated China and Taiwan, and the Qatari government should have known the names of countries that were written at major sporting events so as not to provoke controversy.
Provoking
According to the newspaper, Qatar should have taken appropriate measures from the beginning so as not to irritate both sides, especially since Taiwan is not participating in the World Cup, while China is participating.
It continued: “Qatar’s attempts to change the name more than once and the government’s failure to deal with the crisis have once again opened the door to differences”.
It added: “Taiwan and China have been at odds for decades, but there are principles to be addressed in all sporting events that Qatar has not adhered to, without knowing a clear reason for this grave mistake”.
It noted that the Qatari regulatory error had reignited the crisis between Taiwan and China and unleashed a war of rhetoric between the two parties.
