The host country for an upcoming international volleyball tournament has been switched from Taiwan to Indonesia, reportedly due to political reasons. A statement from the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) on Tuesday simply stated that Surabaya, Indonesia would replace “Taiwan, Chinese Taipei” as host for the 22nd Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship in July. No reason was given.
Taiwan competes in many international sports tournaments under the name Chinese Taipei due to China’s objection to the name “Taiwan”.
Meanwhile, the I.R. Iran Volleyball Federation, an AVC member, released its own English statement on Tuesday, which stated that it was Chinese Taipei’s decision to withdraw as host. It added that the reason was “China’s objection, on political grounds, to its ability to participate in the competition.”
The Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association (CTVA) issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon. It said that the Chinese Volleyball Association had sent a letter to AVC saying that due to the complicated nature of cross-strait political relations, it could not send its team to the competition in Taiwan. It added that because this could affect its qualifications for the Men’s U21 Volleyball Championship in 2025, it was requesting that the AVC change the location of this year’s event. CTVA says that although it protested the change, it ultimately decided to withdraw as host.
In a media interview on Thursday, CTVA Secretary General Huang Kuo-kuang (黃國光) said that the decision was made during a pre-planned CVA meeting scheduled for the registration deadline of January 15th, and that it was unlikely that the decision was related to the outcome of Taiwan’s recent presidential elections.
International sports competitions have often been a source of tension between Taiwan and China. China has not sent its national teams to compete in events held in Taiwan since 2016.