Olympic pins raise Chinese ire

2010 Olympic Chinese language pins stamped 'Made in Taiwan' popular with collectors

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

VANCOUVER, B.C. - What's in a name? If the name is Taiwan and it's supposed to be China, and it involves political sensitivities around the Olympics, quite a lot of trouble, it seems. A Vancouver city official said Monday the city has had to scrap two runs of official Olympic government sponsor pins after it was discovered the manufacturer made them in Taiwan, known as the Republic of China, rather than in China, the People's Republic of China.

Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway region, is not formally recognized by Canada as a country. Relations between the two countries is at times tense, and Beijing protests regularly when Taiwan is given too much official status.

Sven Buemann, Vancouver's chief protocol officer, said the optics of the city's gaffe are obvious now, but it wasn't discovered until many of the pins were handed out.

"Right now we've had a printing error on them which we are hoping to get rectified very, very soon," Buemann said. "If you look at the back of the pin it says Taiwan. It's not a large issue, but it is one we are sensitive to. We had hoped these pins wouldn't say Made in Taiwan, as they are made for the Chinese market."

The pins feature two Chinese language versions of the term "Vancouver" and "Host City" above and below the official logo of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. On the back, above the pin, is a stamp "TAIWAN."

The city's communications department contracted with official Vanoc pin-maker Artiss Aminco Ltd. to produce the pins.

The city planned to give them out to Chinese residents, and to also take them to Beijing with an official delegation for the 2008 Summer Games. But the error went undiscovered for about a year.

Now, Buemann says the city will have to reorder the entire lot in advance of the Beijing Games.

Artiss Aminco, which produces all official Olympic pins for the Vancouver Organizing Committee, including for sponsors and retail sales, normally produces its pins in China, or at partner plants in Canada.

But for reasons CEO Chris Pasterfield can't explain, small runs of the Vancouver city pin were sent to a plant it uses in Taiwan.

"At the time we did it we weren't aware that it was going to be [produced] there," he said. "Vancouver hasn't contacted us yet. Hopefully they will."

Both Buemann and Mayor Sam Sullivan's office say they haven't had any official complaints from Chinese authorities. But clearly, the pins could not continue to be handed out, Buemann said. Jennifer Young, the assistant director of corporate communications, said the city paid $2 each for 1,000 pins, half of which were written in a traditional Chinese character, and half in a simplified Chinese text.

The mistake may be embarrassing for Vancouver, but it has become a hot commodity for pin traders and collectors. Frank Zavarella, of the Pacific Pin Trading Club, said he's being flooded with requests from collectors looking for one of the misprints. Where a Vancouver city host pin might be worth $20 in trade value, it's worth double that, he said.

"To me, all of the sudden they became a rarity," Zavarella said. "Everybody is wanting one now."

Pasterfield said he learned of the pin mistake last week when he was in Vancouver for the launch of the 2010 mascots. Vanoc spokesman Chris Brumwell said to his knowledge no other Olympic pins - whether for retail sales or sponsors - were produced in Taiwan.

The gaffe comes as Beijing considers Vancouver as one of three stops on an international torch relay for the 2008 Paralympic Games. In September, BOCOG, the Beijing organizing committee invited Vancouver, as well as London and Sochi, Russia - which will host the 2012 Summer and 2014 Winter Games respectively - to host the torch on the first international Paralympic tour.