When China's legitimate seat in the United Nations was restored in 1972 as a result of "ping pong diplomacy" and the re-opening of Sino-U.S. relations, it still remained outside the IOC and most other international sports organizations except the international Table Tennis Federation, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Skating Union. This was incompatible with the rapidly changing international situation. Many persons in the Olympic Movement wanted to make changes, recognizing that any international organization not including a country with one quarter of the world's population can hardly be complete.
The first organization to take action was the Asian Games Federation (AGF). China had sent observers to the 1st Asian Games held in New Delhi in 1951, but was barred from the 2nd-6th because, as was the case with the Olympic Games, of the "two Chinas" problem. When the 7th Asian Games were to be held in Tehran in 1974, the AGF had 21 member organizations, 10 of whose countries had established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Most of them, including those whose countries had not yet established diplomatic relations with China, held that the AGF should, even at the risk of being sanctioned by the IOC and international federations (IFs), accept China as a member and invite her to participate in the Asian Games, which would otherwise not be worthy of the name. In September 1973, the AGF held an executive meeting in Bangkok, at which Iran recommended that China be represented by the All-China Sports Federation in the AGF and Taiwan be expelled from it. Two months later, a resolution to this effect was passed at a special council meeting by a vote of 38 for, 13 against and 5 abstentions.
During and after the 7th Asian Games, to which China sent a 385- strong delegation, 13 Asian sports federations recognized China's right of representation. A breakthrough was made in the long-time blockade of Chinese athletes from the Olympic Movement, triggering off a series of similar actions taken by the IFs for fencing, weightlifting, basketball, wrestling, track and field, gymnastics, etc. Now people's eyes were fixed mainly on the IOC, which is regarded as the United Nations of sports and with which the Chinese Olympic Committee had severed its relations since 1958 because of the "two Chinas" problem. Would the IOC follow the UN and the Asian sports organizations in dealing with his problem?
In 1972, IOC President Brundage was replaced by Lord Killanin of Ireland who, with many others in the IOC, held that China should be reinstated in the IOC and that the only way out was to solve the Taiwan problem. According to .the Olympic Charter, only one national organization can represent China in an international sports organization. IOC President Killanin and Vice- President J .A. Samaranch visited China respectively in September 1977 and April 1978. They got a better understanding of the Chinese government's viewpoints.
On January 1, 1979, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which is China's highest organ of state power, promulgated the "Letter to Compatriots in Taiwan," calling on the whole Chinese people, Taiwan's authorities included, to strive for reunification and carry out navigation, trade and postal communications as well as cultural and scientific exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait The call produced a great impact at home and abroad and created favourable conditions for the restoration of China's seat in the IOC.
In March 1979 representatives of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) invited to attend an IOC Executive Board meeting said that they were willing to have talks with representatives from Taiwan on the participation of Taiwanese athletes in the Olympic Games. If they would not go to Beijing, the COC's representatives might go to Taipei or another place for the talks. This idea aroused deep Interest among IOC executive members.
At the IOC Executive meeting President Killanin made two important observations. The first was that the IOC had recognized All-China Sports Federation under the name of "Chinese Olympic Committee." In other words, the recognition was a continuation of the Federation's membership in the lOC. The second was that no record could be found In the IOC's archives about its recognition of Taiwan's "Olympic Committee." Thus it emerged that Taiwan had never been granted formal recognition as a National Olympic Committee (NOC}. It was decided at the meeting that a round- table conference would be held at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne to solve the problem of China's right of representation in the IOC. The COC agreed to this proposal whereas Taiwan wanted to negotiate with President Killanin before the convention of any conference.
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