PARIS (Reuters) – Taiwan supporters celebrated their country’s first gold medal at the Paris Games on Sunday during a badminton doubles final that took place without their national flag, as security staff enforced International Olympic Committee rules. Lee Yang and Wang-Chi-Lin retained their title by beating China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in front of euphoric Taiwanese supporters, but some of them saw their banners confiscated and had to rub out their face paint. “I want to cheer for them,” said Mina Syue, a 28-year-old engineer from Taiwan who said her banner had been confiscated after the guards checked the message with translation software.
Syue’s banner was in the colours of Taiwan’s flag — a red background with ‘Taiwan you’re the best!’ written in blue and white. IOC rules prohibit flags or signs that include political messages or support countries that are not participating at the Olympics. Taiwan competes at the Olympics as Chinese Taipei to avoid objections from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory.
Taiwan’s government rejects Chinese sovereignty claims. A Taiwanese family of four told Reuters they had painted the Taiwanese flag on their faces but were made to wash it off before they could enter the arena. During the match spectators cheered ‘Taiwan’ each time their team scored a point.
At least one supporter managed to sneak in the Taiwanese flag and wave it from the stands. UNITING TAIWAN Afte.