OLYMPICS/Taiwan Pavilion at Cultural Olympiad ends celebrating 1st boxing gold

Paris, Aug. 10 (CNA) The Taiwan Pavilion at the Cultural Olympiad concluded its 15-day run in Paris, France, on Saturday night with participants celebrating Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) winning the country's first-ever Olympic boxing gold medal.

The Cultural Olympiad is a multidisciplinary artistic and cultural program that runs alongside the Summer Olympic Games.

The Taiwan Pavilion at Parc de la Villette was opened to the public from July 27 to Aug. 10, according to its chief organizer, Taiwan's Ministry of Culture (MOC).

The news of Lin's gold medal finish in the women's 57-kilogram (featherweight) division was announced by the pavilion organizers during Saturday's closing night performance featuring Nymphia Wind, the first Taiwanese winner of RuPaul's Drag Race.

When the LED stage screen showed Lin's picture alongside a line indicating the news of Lin's victory, the drag queen broke down in tears amid cheers and applause in celebration of the historic moment.

Speaking on stage, Nymphia expressed gratitude toward Lin, saying that a gold medal "means a lot" for a small country like Taiwan. She also thanked all the other Taiwanese athletes competing in the Paris Olympics for their efforts.

In her address during the pavilion's closing night, Deputy Minister of Culture Sue Wang (王時思) thanked everyone who participated for traveling together on the 15-day "journey" consisting of "surprise, tears, joys, friendship, gratitude, pride and affection."

"What we shared is our true colors," Wang said.

"Whether you call us 'Chinese Taipei' or Taiwan, Taiwan will not give up becoming part of the international community," she added, referring to the fact that the country competes in the Olympics under the name "Chinese Taipei" due to pressure from China.

Taiwan's representative to France François Wu (吳志中) also expressed gratitude to everyone who helped to make the Taiwan Pavilion possible.

"Tonight is not a farewell. We will see each other again," he added, before thanking "everyone for giving Taiwan a wonderful journey."

According to the MOC, the Taiwan Pavilion in Paris featured 24 performing arts groups, with over 120 members and performers.

Together they showcased Taiwan's "freedom, democracy and diversity" in 57 shows that encompassed music, opera, dance and visual performances, the ministry said in a statement.