Taiwan sports minister Lee Yang briefly barred from Asian Games opening ceremony
Taiwan's sports minister Lee Yang was initially blocked from the athletes' village opening ceremony at the Nagoya Asian Games, a bad sign for Taiwan's standing in international sport, though the delegation's pushback got him in.
- The Olympic Council of Asia told Taiwan's delegation Lee could not attend the village flag-raising ceremony, delaying the event.
- Taiwan's team protested hard and demanded official documents backing the order, but none were produced.
- After an hour and a half of back-and-forth, Lee was allowed in and the ceremony went ahead.
- The delegation had heard the day before that the OCA seemed to be under "pressure" to keep him out, hinting at political interference likely tied to China.
- Taiwan's ruling DPP praised the delegation for standing its ground and demanded the OCA explain why Lee was barred in the first place.
Outlook: Taiwan will keep pressing the OCA for an explanation, and more political friction at the Games is likely.