The 2004 Athens Olympic Games, which are the biggest in Olympic history -- involving over 11,099 athletes, 20,000 reporters and costing over US$20 billion -- were to be launched last night with a splendiferous opening ceremony.
After 108 years, the Olympic Games returned to their home country, Greece, and the games will last 17 days, allowing over 11,099 athletes to compete for 301 gold medals in 35 disciplines.
Seventy-five members of Team Taiwan -- including athletes and staff -- were to be led by flag-bearer Chen Chih-yuan (
The ceremony was to begin at 2am Taiwan time, and the Athens Olympic Organization Committee was, as usual, keeping the details of the ceremony secret.
The committee said that Mihalis Hatzigiannis, a male singer who is popular in Greece, will sing the Athens Olympic theme and Yannis Kotsiras, also a famous Greek singer, will sing the Olympic theme song, while Bjork, the elfin Icelandic chanteuse, will perform at the end of the parade.
Vowing to win the country's first gold medal, Team Taiwan is placing its hope in two Taekwondo athletes -- Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎) in the men's category and Chen Shih-hsin (陳詩欣) in the female category. Team Taiwan said it expects to bring home at least six medals.
Other possible disciplines in which Team Taiwan might earn medals include archery (female), shooting (female), weightlifting (male), table tennis (male, single and double) and baseball.
The coaches of Taiwan's female softball team and Judo team also expressed confidence of making it to the finals and said they are looking forward to winning medals.
As for the baseball team, although some foreign sports commentators say that Taiwan ranks sixth among the competing teams, Team Taiwan's coach, Hsu Sheng-ming (徐生明), pledged that his team will beat its first two opponents -- the Canadian and Australian teams -- and gain at least four wins during the seven preliminary games to make it to the final qualifications.
The baseball team is scheduled to play Canada on Aug. 15 and Hsu said that Chang Chih-chia (張誌家), who plays in Japan's professional league, or Wang Jien-ming (王建民), who plays for the New York Yankee's minor league team, will be the starting pitcher, while Tsao Chin-hui (曹錦輝), who plays for the Colorado Rockies, may be closer.
"Team Japan, which is organized with the best professional players, may be the most hopeful of getting the gold medal," said senior baseball commentator Tseng Wen-cheng (曾文城). "However, their weakness may be that they are too confident."
Taiwan's best table tennis athlete, Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵), who ranks fifth, faces a tough challenge on the road to winning a gold medal, because he has to defeat China's Wang Hao, who ranks fourth worldwide, in the quarterfinals and Wang Liqin (
Also see stories:
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would