Beijing Welcomes Participation of Taiwanese Compatriots in 2022 Winter Olympics

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China welcomes the participation of Taiwanese compatriots in the events of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics despite the tense relations between the island and the mainland, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in the Chinese State Council, said on Wednesday.

"We welcome the participation of Taiwanese compatriots in the events associated with the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, and we hope that compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will meet in Beijing and will share the enthusiasm and joy of the Winter Olympics", Ma Xiaoguang said at a press briefing.

Despite not being recognised by the International Olympic Committee as a sovereign state, Taiwan will take part in the Games as an autonomous team under the banner of Chinese Taipei.

The 2022 Winter Olympics will take place in Beijing from 4-20 February. The Winter Paralympics will be held in the Chinese capital from 4-13 March.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own democratically-elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence.