"Oops!" With A Capital "O"by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 04 Feb 2007 07:20 PM Imagine attending the Super Bowl and instead of hearing a celebrity belt out "The Star-Spangled Banner," he starts singing the Russian national anthem. A similar situation took place yesterday during the inauguration of a China-financed stadium on the Caribbean island of Grenada when a band performed the national anthem of Chinese rival Taiwan. According to news reports, Chinese Ambassador Qian Hongshan and throngs of Chinese laborers who built the $40 million Queen's Park stadium as a gift were visibly annoyed as their Asian rival's anthem echoed inside the 20,000-seat venue. Oops! That's about all Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell could say at the time of the blunder. Though reports say later Mitchell pledged an investigation into how the Royal Grenada Police Band could have prepared the anthem of Taiwan instead of China. To put this mistake into perspective you need to understand the relationship between China and Taiwan. They split in 1949 amid a civil war, and as one historian put it, "Beijing claims the democratically run island is a renegade province that should not have diplomatic ties with other countries." The rivals spent years trying to win the allegiance of Caribbean nations, and in 2005 Grenada switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China. After a stunned Prime Minister Mitchell had time to regroup he offered this apology to workers and Chinese Embassy staff members from Grenada: "I am very saddened. This unfortunate error breaks my heart." Those of you with stellar memories may recall a similarly embarrassing moment, which happened at the White House in April 2006. During a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao an announcer said the following: "Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem of the Republic of China, followed by the national anthem of the United States of America." China's anthem played, but "Republic of China" is the formal name of Taiwan. China is known formally as the People's Republic of China. Oops! Related Articles: Fashion Disaster: Lady in Red Times Four... Oh My!! Seasonal Travel--Where To Celebrate Chinese New Year Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantpopular culture tags User Comments  Julie Gentry (5915) 04 Feb 2007 11:06 PMKnowing Grenada's history, I'd bet it wasn't a mistake as claimed, but a nod to Taiwan.  Michele Cheplic |
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