Remember Ted Kennedy? The Massachusetts senator was a progressive icon—a liberal lion who endured the tragic killings of his three older brothers, all in their respective primes.
Ted ran for President once, in 1980, when he challenged our sitting 39th President, Jimmy Carter, a fellow Democrat. This, of course, required him to run in the New Hampshire Primary, something expected of any prospective President—at least up until Joe Biden.
The Lake Placid Winter Olympics were ongoing, and Ted compared his campaign effort with that of the miracle U.S. ice hockey team. Then he took questions.
Always a sports guy, I immediately followed up on his Winter Olympic reference with a query about Taiwan’s exclusion from that competition.
(The International Olympic Committee wouldn’t allow the small contingent from Republic of China/Taiwan to compete unless it forsook its name and national flag, out of deference to the Communist People’s Republic of China—the PRC—which was competing in its first Winter Olympics.)
Ted glared at me.
“Well, er, ah, we perhaps should consider how both the USA and Puerto Rico have separate Olympic teams, even though we’re all Americans,” replied the Massachusetts senator.
I quickly responded.
“But Puerto Rico’s never been prevented from competing under its own flag, unlike Taiwan.”
The liberal lion further glared at me, perhaps regretting that the road to the White House required him to travel through Groveton, N.H., to be hassled by an impertinent citizen over an issue that certainly then wasn’t as important to most Americans as inflation or the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Ted then came back with what I believe was a very honest reply.
“I frankly don’t care whether or not Taiwan competes in the Olympics or not,” he snapped. “Next question.”
I resurrect this old sport-thought because I was recently privileged to visit Taiwan with a New England legislative delegation as guests of the ROC’s Foreign Ministry. The trip was timely and informative, given current international geopolitics. And the Taiwanese were wonderful hosts on their island of freedom—surrounded by hostile waters dominated by a PRC committed to conquering the ROC.
For the record, the Republic of China/Taiwan did eventually return to the Olympics in 1984 as “Chinese Taipei,” a compromise the Taiwanese reluctantly agreed to so as to allow their athletes opportunities to compete.
Fast forward to 2021 and an international swimming and diving competition in Cyprus involving 40 countries. Bullied by the PRC, officials there wouldn’t allow Taiwan’s flag to be shown on displays or scoreboards. Taiwanese divers could compete under an Olympic flag or under no flag at all. The ROC athletes chose to compete under no flag.
The shows of support were the results of impromptu athlete actions, not government policy directives. That’s what made it all so inspiring to so many—except for the elephant-bully in the room: the Communist PRC.
Carpe diem!
Ted Kennedy was a decent football player for Harvard back in the 1950s.
