During the first week of December, the City of Vancouver pulled two runs of official Olympic government sponsored lapel pins made for the Chinese market after it was discovered that the manufacturer made them in Taiwan.

The Chinese government considers Canada as a “breakaway region” and Canada does not formally recognize Taiwan as a country. The city had planned to give these Olympic pins to Chinese residents and take them to Beijing with an official delegation for the 2008 Summer Games.

These Vancouver Olympic 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. This controversy has revolved around the fact that the official Olympic pins also have a “Taiwan” stamp on the back and Vancouver fears being offensive when they should actually be stamped as "Made in China".

These Olympic pins had to be shipped overseas in advance of the Beijing Games next year but will now have to be re-ordered. Vancouver officials stated that this is not a large issue but that it is sensitive enough to feel the need to do something about it.

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