Asian Games organizers admit that "Taiwan" should not have been censored

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee has acknowledged that spectators were not prohibited from displaying towels bearing the word “Taiwan,” and that the decision to stop a Taiwanese fan from doing so resulted from a “mistaken understanding” by venue staff and the organizing committee’s venue supervisor.

J-CAST News concluded that staff appear to have stopped displays other than those bearing the name “Chinese Taipei” in order to avoid trouble with the Chinese cheering section.

The organizers’ admission has generated media coverage in multiple languages:

English

• Taiwan News: “Asian Games organizers say banning Taiwan towel was staff error” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/6450106
• The Japan Times: “What’s in a name? A Taiwan towel stirs Asian Games controversy” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/10/01/japan/society/taiwan-towel-asian-games/

Japanese

• NHK: 「アジア大会 組織委『Ｔａｉｗａｎタオル制止』は誤認識と説明」 https://news.web.nhk/newsweb/na/nb-3000051591
• J-CAST News: 「『Taiwan』タオルで応援もNG、一体なぜなのか　野球競技中にトラブル、アジア大会組織委の見解は」
  https://www.j-cast.com/2026/09/29518181.html

Traditional Chinese

• 中央社 (CNA): 「亞運觀眾舉Taiwan毛巾遭制止　主辦單位：工作人員錯誤認知」 https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aspt/202610010225.aspx
• Liberty Times: 「舉Taiwan毛巾被制止！亞運委員會：會場負責人錯誤認知」 https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/5592022