A comparative analysis of the factors contributing to Olympic success: Taiwan, Republic of China, and the People's Republic of China

Taiwan separated from China as the result of the 1949 political upheaval between Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Government and Mao Tse-Tung's Communists Party which concluded with the Chinese Communist takeover of mainland China and the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Since then, Taiwan, ROC and the PRC have competed in the international sport arena for the "China" status. The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the extent of Olympic success and to explore the roles and functions of selected factors of Olympic success of athletes from Taiwan, ROC and the PRC during the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.;Sports governing-body administrators, sports scholars, sports science researchers, national team coaches and athletes from the ROC and the PRC served as respondents to written questionnaire and personal interviews.;The data gathered from the questionnaire responses and personal interviews provided the information to describe and test the research questions for this study. Data obtained from the researcher's direct observations, and personal experiences, library resources, and official documents were treated as supplemental information.;Descriptive analyses were obtained from the questionnaire and personal interview data. Figures and percentage tables were constructed to compare the questionnaire data. Fifty participant responses were analyzed via chi-square.;Four comparative research questions were proposed for investigation: (1) The difference of sport success during the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games; (2) The difference in sport organizations and administration; (3) The difference in scientific sports training practices; (4) The difference in the extent and application of sports resources.;Differences exist in the Olympic success, the development of sports organizations and administration, the scientific sports training practices, and the extent and application of sports resources, between Taiwan, ROC, and the PRC.