I noticed this during Opening Ceremonies.

Chinese Taipei, generally known in the U.S. as Taiwan … is popular here on the mainland.

Or its athletes are, anyway.

Which strikes me as odd. But maybe it shouldn’t.

It’s all about history, of course.

Taiwan, a large island off the south coast of the mainland, once was a part of China proper. But it became its own political entity in 1949, when the survivors of the Nationalist (pro-U.S.) government fled to the island, abandoning the mainland ahead of the conquering Red Chinese (the anti U.S. communists led by Mao) at the end of the Chinese civil war.

Taiwan remains its own political entity, although China never has accepted that. But, oddly, almost 60 years later, the Taiwan teams seem popular with the mainland Chinese. They got a big ovation at Opening Ceremonies, and they get generic support when they compete.

Which is interesting.

I suppose one way to bring it home? Imagine if Cuba had been part of the U.S. from its inception, and at the end of our Civil War the Confederate government escaped there and established its own government, and its political security was guaranteed by a great overseas power. Say, Great Britain.

We would always consider Cuba as part of the U.S. and the people in charge there as traitors and scoundrels.

That’s how weird it must be for the Chinese and Taiwan. Imagine the U.S. at an event, and the Confederate States of Cuba show up … would we cheer for our sundered kin from what used to be part of our country?

If we were Chinese, we would.

There still may be tensions between the governments of the mainland and the island, but it’s not to be seen here on the playing fields.

There seems to be a sense that China will absorb Taiwan again, someday. Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to cheer the “bad guys” who got out of town ahead of Sheriff Mao, back in 1949.