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
After the match, Taiwan supporters celebrated the gold medal victory chanting "Taiwan Taiwan" and "Taiwan number 1".
Taiwanese freelance artist Peng Cheng-yang had bought a last-minute ticket and travelled from Germany to see the match when he found out Taiwan would be playing China.
"It's a political action to be here, to show we are a country, to support our people. We don't need the flag - it's the people that is important," he said, adding he was "moved".
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Facebook that "the Lin-Yang team faced strong opponents and fought all the way to the end, uniting and inspiring Taiwan!"
When asked about the Taiwanese president's Facebook post, Lee and Wang paused for several seconds looking uncomfortable.
"Very tough question. We thank all the support we have received and will continue to work hard. We will put out better performances in the future," Wang said.
Spectator Christina Chang, a Tawainese education worker living in New York, said that she was very proud of the Taiwan players but that she clapped for the silver medallists too.
"It is not a political symbol. I'm excited as it's our first gold medal but the Chinese deserved the silver too - that's the beautiful thing about the Olympics," she said.
Isa Zhang, a 35-year-old China supporter living in Paris, said that although the team she was rooting for came second she was happy with the result because "China, Chinese Taipei - it's all the same for me."
At Taipei's main train station, supporters held a party to watch the final at 10 p.m. local time where they were able to stridently show their support with Taiwanese flags and political colours.
"It is an honour to have our flag represented in an important event ... I hope one day we can bravely hold our flag in an international event without (it) being snatched away," said Danny Tsai, 36, a local resident in the crowd.
(This story has been refiled to fix the grammar in paragraph 12)
(Reporting by Richa Naidu and Ann Wang in Paris; additional reporting by Angie Teo in Taipei; writing by Layli Foroudi; editing by Clare Fallon and Ken Ferris)
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