Speed skater Huang Yu-ting (???), one of the four athletes competing for Taiwan at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, faced a backlash on social media Thursday after posting a training video of her wearing a Chinese national team skinsuit.

After removing the video from her social media at midnight on Wednesday, Huang posted a response to the controversy, saying: “Sports is sports.”

“In the world of sports, we don’t have different nationalities and are all good friends when away from the competitive stage. I do not wish to take the attention from what is important,” she wrote.

In a post released on Thursday, the 33-year-old Huang said she and other Taiwanese athletes would try their best to seek great honor for Taiwan.

Huang is set to compete for Taiwan, which appears at the Olympics as Chinese Taipei, in the speed skating women’s 1500 meters event on Feb. 7, the 500 meters on Feb. 13, and the 1000 meters on Feb. 17.

Asked about the controversy, Lin Che-hung (???), a deputy director-general of the Sports Administration, told CNA on Thursday that Huang had not shown enough awareness of the sensitivity of cross-Taiwan Strait politics.

He said Huang had apologized to the administration as well as the chaperones of the delegation.

Lin then explained that Huang had been given the uniform by a Chinese athlete whom Huang had befriended during training camp in Germany.

While it is a tradition for athletes to exchange gifts, Huang should be more aware of her social influence and presence in the future, he said.

The official added that Huang would not be punished or reprimanded for the video and would compete for Taiwan as planned.

Beijing is Huang’s second Olympics, with the athlete having also competed in the same three events as this year the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Originally a inline speed skater, Huang switched to the ice in 2015 and has won gold and silver medals in both disciplines at several international events, including the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships, the Asian Games, and the World Games.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel