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No Chinese flag! Chinese team quits World Pole Sport Championship final

(People's Daily Online)    16:33, December 14, 2016

 Chinese pole dance team members take a group photo with a Chinese national flag brought by them to Florence, Italy. (Photo/Official Weibo of CCTV5)

The Chinese team dropped out of the World Pole Sport Championship held in Florence, Italy, CCTV5 reported on Dec. 13. Their choice was driven by the absence of China's national flag among those of other participating countries. The rest of the flags were lined up along a walkway to the entrance of the venue, but the Chinese national flag was missing.

According to a report by NetEase, the Chinese national pole dance team received an invitation from the Italian International Pole Sports and Arts Federation (IPSAF) to participate in the tournament after their performance at the World Pole Dance Championship in Romania. 

Chinese pole dance team members take a group photo with a Chinese national flag brought by them to Florence, Italy. (Photo/Official Weibo of CCTV5)

The Chinese team arrived in Florence on Dec. 9, after three months' preparation. When they first discovered that the Chinese flag was absent, team leader Yuan Biao contacted the IPSAF president. Yuan was told that the flag pole was broken, and IPSAF promised to solve the problem in time for the semi-finals. 

Unfortunately, the IPSAF president went back on his word; the Chinese flag was still not raised the next day. The president stated that "not every participating country's national flag would be raised." However, with the exception of China's, the national flags of all 25 participating countries were flying, according to Yuan.

Chinese pole dance team members pose for a group photo in Florence, Italy. (Photo/Official Weibo of CCTV5)

The Chinese team then announced that they would drop out of the final as a method of protest. Three days have passed since their original announcement, and the IPSAF has yet to comment on the flag issue. 

 

 

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(Web editor: Du Mingming, Bianji)

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