More Taiwanese spectators at the Paris Olympics have reported having signs and banners confiscated by security staff or snatched by Chinese fans.
Sandy Hsueh (薛雅俶), president of the Taiwanese Association in France, said that three security personnel confiscated a blank piece of cardboard from her at Sunday’s men’s doubles badminton final, in which Taiwan’s Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) defeated China’s Liang Weikeng (梁偉鏗) and Wang Chang (王昶) to win their second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event.
A staff member told her they had “received an instruction from the Olympic Games saying that anything related to Taiwan or showing Taiwan cannot appear,” Hsueh said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
“Obviously we were targeted because Chinese fans were sitting in the front row seat on the lower level holding a Chinese national flag that exceeded the size allowed by the IOC” (International Olympic Committee), she said.
Although she reported the oversized Chinese flag, she said venue staff took no action over the banner.
Many spectators recorded evidence of a Chinese woman holding a mobile phone, who stood next to the security personnel and directing them to confiscate signs and banners from Taiwanese supporters, Hsueh said.
Another supporter took pictures of the woman thanking the staff and volunteers after the game and giving them badges, she said.
The incidents follow similar scenes during Lee and Wang’s semi-final on Friday, when a Taiwanese spectator’s banner was snatched by an unidentified man, who was reportedly ejected by venue staff.
At the same event, a towel with the word “Taiwan” printed on it was confiscated from a Taiwanese supporter by venue staff.
Hsueh said she believes that China’s interference has gone beyond the scope of the IOC framework on fairness, inclusion and nondiscrimination.
A Chinese human rights advocate who asked not to be identified said that the government in Beijing dispatches people to Olympic events in which Taiwan participates to scrutinize flags and report them to the IOC.
Under IOC rules, spectators are prohibited from displaying flags or signs with political messages or that support entities not competing in the Olympics.
Taiwan has participated in the Olympic Games as “Chinese Taipei” since 1984, with athletes competing under the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. Prior to that it participated as “Formosa” and “Taiwan.”
“When facing the Chinese team, the IOC will treat Taiwan very harshly. Five-star [Chinese] flags were everywhere in the stadium, but our signs bearing even the words ‘jia you’ [加油, an expression of encouragement] were taken away,” Representative to France Francois Wu (吳志中) said on Sunday.
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