Has China Won 44 Gold Medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics? - Chinese Cyber Nationalists Claim Hong Kong and Taiwan Must Be Included in the Medal Count!

On August 11, the 2024 Paris Olympics wrapped up with the final medal count showing a tie between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Both teams finished the competition with 40 gold medals, but the US took the overall lead with 126 medals, leaving the PRC trailing with 91.

However, PRC cyber-nationalists are not ready to accept this outcome. They insist that China actually won 44 gold medals!

As the Olympics drew to a close on Sunday, PRC state media outlet CCTV News took to the micro-blogging platform Weibo to announce the results of the games:

“China is tied for first place in the gold medal list,” CCTV wrote. “Today, all the competitions in Paris have concluded. The Chinese delegation has won 40 gold medals, 27 silver medals and 24 bronze medals—an outstanding performance! Share this proudly, remember this glorious moment, and pay tribute to the Chinese athletes! #IAmProudOfTheChineseTeam.”

But Chinese cyber-nationalists aka “little pinks” (小粉红) would have none of it. Some of them criticised CCTV, arguing that China has won 44 medals and thus beaten the US.

“No no no, we [won] 44, we also have Taipei and Hong Kong, they are parts of China (不不不,我们44块,我们有台北和香港,他们都是中国的一部分),” wrote one user in the comments.

“China's main team 40, China's Hong Kong team 2, China's Taiwan team 2, China's gold medal count 44 (中国中央队40,中国香港队2,中国台湾队2,中国金牌数44),” a netizen remarked.

“Who tied for first place? We have a total of 44 medals: 40+2+2 (谁跟你并列第一啊我们一共44块40+2+2),” commented another.

Source: Weibo

Memes showing a medal count of 44 for China soon began to circulate online.

Chinese netizens created an "updated" version of the medal table, via Weibo

These seemingly trivial arguments over Olympic golds highlight real political tensions. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims Taiwan as part of the PRC and has vowed to use force to annex it.

Taiwan competes at the Olympics as “Chinese Taipei,” a term designed to appease the PRC. Taiwan agreed to this name in 1981 to participate in the Olympic Games without asserting sovereignty, a compromise with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

On March 24, 1981, the New York Times wrote:

“A dispute that has disrupted the Olympic Games for years was resolved today when China and Taiwan signed an agreement at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, ending two years of litigation and bickering … Under the agreement, Taiwan representatives accepted a new name for the committee, a new flag and a new Olympic emblem replacing the old pre-revolution insignia, under which the Taipei leadership claimed to speak for all of China.”

The NYT noted that Taiwan had been part of the Olympic movement under the name Republic of China (ROC) until 1979, using the ROC’s flag and national anthem. Beijing refused to compete in the Olympics while Taiwan was recognized in this way by the IOC.

“Little pinks” are known for spreading nationalistic narratives online. Under the environment of heavy censorship in the PRC, it is notable that the regime allows such discourse to spread. Whether cyber-nationalists are real people, or state-backed propagandists, or a mix of both, cannot be established due to the purposefully opaque nature of the PRC’s internet and government structures.

The Adventure of Urashima Taro , by Aris Teon

Breeze of a Spring Evening and Other Stories, by Yu Dafu

Craven A and other Stories, by Mu Shiying

The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan's Defense and American Strategy in Asia, by Ian Easton

The Sounds of Mandarin: Learning to Speak a National Language in China and Taiwan, 1913-1960, by Janet Y. Chen

The Oil Vendor and the Queen of Flowers: A Tale From Ancient China, by Feng Menglong

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