BOSTON (Reuters) – The International Skating Union (ISU) apologised on Thursday for displaying the flag of Taiwan rather than the Chinese Taipei emblem at the World Figure Skating Championships in Boston.
The Taiwan flag was displayed on the video screen behind skater Li Yu-Hsiang when he was introduced ahead of his short program earlier on Thursday.
Taiwan competes at almost all international sports events 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.
The TD Garden public address announcer read the apology before Thursday night’s pairs event.
“The ISU would like to sincerely apologise for the display of the incorrect flag for Chinese Taipei during the ISU World Figure Skating Championships event today,” it read.
“We fully understand the sensitivity of this mistake and deeply regret any offence or confusion this may have caused.”
Li finished 30th in the short program ahead of Saturday’s free skate.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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