CrossFit Games 2019: Taiwanese athlete must represent China under new country rules
- Tsai-Jui Hung says she ‘would proudly say I come from Taiwan’
- Situation brings self-ruled democracy’s complicated relationship with China back into the sporting spotlight
“I would proudly say I come from Taiwan,” said Hung, who came 805th in the CrossFit Open, a five-week, user-submitted workout contest.
Hung, who finished first in China (CrossFit has Hong Kong and Taiwan under China concerning its new country representative rules jurisdiction) is hoping to raise enough money to travel to Madison, Wisconsin this summer to compete in the Games.
Hong Kong’s own Ant Haynes, a former rugby player, was the top male in the 2019 CrossFit Open. Hung, 26, is Taiwanese and trains out of Kaohsiung at both CrossFit X Ray (where she is a full-time coach) and Lian CrossFit (her original gym).
Beijing doesn’t control Taiwan but claims the self-ruled democracy as its territory. And the Chinese Communist Party has in recent years ramped up a campaign to isolate Taiwan internationally, including forcing airlines to change the way they refer to Taiwan and censoring display of the Taiwanese flag.