“These People Never Give Up”: American Debates on the Return of the People’s Republic of China to the Olympic Movement

Abstract

Abstract On January 1, 1979, the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) exchanged diplomatic recognition. This action coincided with the withdrawal of American support for the Taiwan-based Republic of China (ROC) and provided the PRC ammunition in its attempts to rejoin the Olympic Movement. In opposition to his government’s policy, Julian K. Roosevelt, an American member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), pushed for a different outcome. He called upon the IOC to maintain the status quo and allow the Republic of China Olympic Committee (ROCOC) to continue using its name, flag, and anthem. Only ten months after the United States recognized the PRC, however, the IOC published the Nagoya Resolution, which forced the ROCOC to change its name and compete as Chinese Taipei. Roosevelt’s hopes were dashed. This incident, barely acknowledged in academic scholarship, highlights the symbiotic relationship between sport and politics and provides an interesting and useful case study in how an IOC member directly contradicted their government’s foreign policy.