The arrival of athletes to the Opening Ceremony was delayed due to disturbances outside the stadium ©Getty Images

Three suspects have been charged in relation to disturbances which led to the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade Opening Ceremony being disrupted.

Disturbances outside the Taipei Stadium on August 19 saw 128 protest groups surround the arena to show their disapproval over pension reforms, blocking athletes from entering.

In the absence of the teams, volunteers paraded the national flags until local authorities could deal with the situation and allow the athletes to enter the stadium.

It was later revealed protesters threw smoke grenades.

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office have confirmed three men have been charged, as a result of the disturbances.

Yen Tsai-jen, who reportedly served in the marines, has been accused of hitting a police sergeant, according to the Taipei Times.

He has been claimed to be the spokesman of the “Southern Taiwan Alliance for Resistance Against Tyranny” group, who are alleged to have organised the pension reform protests.

Lee Yu-bin and Chen Chin-tien were also charged, with the latter having been indicted for releasing flares outside the stadium.

It was claimed this led to the suspension of the Ceremony, with fears having been raised over a potential terrorist attack, with Taiwan President President Tsai Ing-wen having been in attendance at the stadium.

All delegations eventually arrived in the stadium following a near one-hour delay ©Getty Images
All delegations eventually arrived in the stadium following a near one-hour delay ©Getty Images

During the investigation, the defendants reportedly denied causing disturbance and assaulting police, but retracted their statements when video footage and eyewitness evidence were provided.

The trio have been released on bail.

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je pledged to have no leniency should protestors cause disturbances during the rest of the Summer Universiade.

The multi-sport event took place without further incident, with enhanced security measures having been put in place for the Closing Ceremony on August 30.

For the safety of the athletes and their delegations, three security perimeters were installed at athlete pickup and drop-off points and the roads leading to Taipei Stadium.

These areas were controlled with temporary fences measuring one and a half metres in height, with three metre long barbed wire fences and crowd control barriers.

Two designated "opinion expression areas" were made available to those who want to protest during the event.