Rio Olympics organisers make new China flags after criticism over flaws

“You have to be very familiar with the Chinese flag to notice it (the mistake)”, Games spokesman Mario Andrada said.

It said the flags were made by non-Chinese third-party companies, and a correction order has been issued.

The realisation that the four small, golden stars on the Chinese emblem are pointing upwards rather than towards the bigger star, as they are supposed to, sparked recriminations among patriotic Chinese.

Former CCTV host Cui Yongyuan wrote on Sina Weibo on Sunday that many Chinese viewers watching Chinese flags being raised at Olympic award ceremonies over the weekend noticed that the orientation of the four smaller stars on the flags was incorrect. “We will act as quickly as possible to replace the flags we have”.

On the flag used the 10m air rifle, the points of the outer stars were all aligned identically, in parallel with the large star.

“It was a mistake – and to the people who have been offended by it, we apologise unreservedly to them”, a Seven spokesperson said, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Sheng Lei carries the flag of China during the opening ceremony for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The company has also added that they produced small flags for fans to purchase, but not the flags in the awards ceremonies.

“But it’s important to emphasise that while we’re not happy with this situation, the flag as it was approved by the Chinese authorities based in Brazil”. On Saturday, Australia’s Channel 7 network used the Chilean national flag instead of the Chinese flag.