Tl;dr Article aimed at exposing the hidden politics in freediving behind AIDA International, Taiwan, and China.
Article: The Hidden Politics Of Freediving Exposed: AIDA, Taiwan, And China - DeeperBlue.com
For people who are unfamiliar with the sport of freediving, some background: AIDA International, an international freediving organization, removed the Taiwanese flag mid-livestream during the 2021 AIDA Depth World Championship due to China blocking the livestream of the competition to its citizens.
Since then, AIDA International has renamed Taiwan “Chinese Taipei, Taiwan” and forbidden the use of the ROC flag in competitions, downgraded AIDA Taiwan’s full member status to that of an observer, censored posts relating to Taiwan on its Facebook group, and had meetings with the Chinese government regarding Taiwan’s status within AIDA without communicating it to the public. Meanwhile, regarding Russia and Ukraine, AIDA International held a public vote concerning the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in competition with full transparency.
This expose explains the situation in detail and includes private communication between the AIDA Assembly/athlete e-mails, private Facebook conversations, letters from the Chinese government, and deleted Facebook posts (along with input from AIDA International themselves).
If you are an AIDA member and want to make a change, write to your AIDA National and tell them you want them to vote yes to changing the AIDA Statutes so that countries currently living in the shadows of AIDA International, including Taiwan, can have a voice by becoming full AIDA member states.
You can find AIDA Board members and your AIDA National’s email address here: AIDA | Board and Assembly Members
