By Sena Guler
ANKARA (AA) – The petition by Taichung City Government of Taiwan to reconsider its position on the 2019 Youth Games was recently rejected by the East Asian Olympic Committee (EAOC).
Taichung City was slated to host the first East Asian Youth Games (EAYG) in August 2019; however, the EAOC cancelled the EAYG following an unscheduled council meeting on July 24.
The Youth Games was planned to be attended by 2,300 young athletes from nine East Asian countries and regions, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, Guam and China.
After EAOC’s announcement, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) stated without delay that cancellation of the event was “Beijing’s response to a name-changing referendum campaign from Taiwan for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics”.
In response, Taichung City Mayor Chia-Lung Lin said in a statement that the referendum in question was actually launched by Taiwanese citizens, not by the Taiwanese government.
The Taichung City Government then officially appealed to the EAOC to reverse the decision and requested its hosting rights to be reinstated.
However, the petition was rejected on Aug. 12 by the EAOC, which said it was “conducive to the solidarity, stability, and harmony of the East Asian sports community” in a response letter to Mayor Lin.
Lin also said they were planning to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland to seek international support.
