The 2004 Athens Olympic Games wrapped up with a closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Sunday evening after 16 days of competition among athletes from 202 nations.
Taiwan came away with a res-pectable haul -- winning two gold medals, two silvers and one bronze to take 31st spot in the overall medal standings. The result was Taiwan's best ever at the Olympics.
Taekwondo athlete Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄), who won a silver medal in the men's under-68kg division, led Taiwan's delegation at the closing ceremony.
Addressing the ceremony, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge described the Athens Games as the "unforgettable, dream games." Rogge invited all the world's top athletes to meet again in four years in Beijing for the 29th Olympiad.
A few days earlier, the Athens Olympic Games organizing committee declared Aug. 26 "Chinese Taipei Day" after two Taiwanese athletes won gold medals in taekwondo events on that day.
Chen Shih-hsin (
Shortly afterwards, Chu Mu-yen (
It marked the first time that any country had won two gold medals on a single day in taekwondo since it became an Olympic event 12 years ago.
The head coach of the taekwondo team said the team's performance had become a source of pride for all the people of Taiwan.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the