It was Day 7 of the freediving world championship, streamed reside on-line from Cyprus. One after the other, ladies competing within the fixed weight class used bifins or monofins to dive to a focused depth and again to the floor, all in a single breath. Onscreen subsequent to every diver’s title was her nationality and nationwide flag.
However as Mia Hou of Taiwan took her flip, the purple, white and blue Taiwanese flag — which had appeared earlier within the livestream — had disappeared. Organizers had eliminated the flag with out warning after authorities in China, which claims the self-ruling island of Taiwan as its territory, stopped the livestream on platforms within the mainland.
The diving affiliation representing Taiwan protested the choice, however was advised the flag couldn’t be restored in accordance with Worldwide Olympic Committee guidelines. Within the following days, athletes from 10 nations, together with the US, requested that their flags be eliminated as nicely, arguing that sports activities needs to be politically impartial.
The Worldwide Affiliation for the Improvement of Apnea, which held the occasion final month, later apologized to Taiwan, saying “the cease of the stream by the Chinese language authorities took us unexpectedly and the crew was not ready to take care of it on such brief discover.”
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