A defiant first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), who is leading Taiwan's delegation at the Paralympic Games in Athens, yesterday said she will accomplish her diplomatic mission despite an official rejection by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Bowing the Chinese pressure, the IPC refused to recognize Wu as an official delegate for Chinese Taipei. Seemingly ignoring the decision, the first lady yesterday held a drinking party for foreign Paralympic delegations and IPC heavyweights, including its President Phil Craven, at the Marriot Hotel in Athens.
Wu also visited the athletes' villages yesterday morning to attend a welcoming ceremony where the nation's Olympic flag was raised.
Meanwhile, the delegation's spokesman James Huang (黃志芳), who is also the deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office, yesterday negotiated with Paralympic committee's CEO, Xavier Gonzalez, to try and keep Wu as part of the nation's delegation.
The IPC had issued a National Paralympic Committee (NPC) card, a high-access pass to Wu in July, however, it announced on Tuesday to substitute Linda Chen (陳李稠) for Wu as Taiwan's delegation leader. The first lady was subsequently downgraded from NPC card holder to "transferable guest" status.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Taiwan's delegation at the games have protested IPC's decision.
The first lady said at a tea gathering with Taiwanese media Wednesday that the IPC decision will not affect her determination of continue her trip.
"There have been some setbacks since I arrived in Athens [on Monday]," Wu said, "but if we gave up just because of those troubles, then Taiwan will have no more opportunity to get involved in the international community."
"I have been on diplomatic missions in 2001 and I will continue to give to my country if it needs me and my physical condition is good enough," she told reporters.
"Pressure [from China] can only stimulate my adrenalin," Wu told local reporters who followed the delegation to Athens to cover Wu's activities. "The more I suffer in irrational situations, the stronger my determination to prevail gets," the first lady said.
"Do not underestimate my fighting capacity," she added.
Wu reiterated her desire to attend the Paralympic Olympic Games opening ceremony on Sept. 17 since she still hold NPC accreditation.
Commenting on the IPC's decision of canceling her NPC card, Wu said that, "it was their wrong, not ours."
"I do not think that the setback will damage the reputation of our nation, myself or President Chen," she said.
Wu was originally scheduled to personally lead Taiwan's athletes in the opening ceremony parade, however, in light of the IPC's recent decision, Wu may choose to sit in the VIP zone.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) yesterday condemned the IPC's unfair treatment of Taiwan, saying that it succumbed to pressure from China and created nonsensical reason for harassing the Taiwanese delegation.
"The Paralympic Games have been corrupted with political concerns, an injustice which the IPC should shoulder all responsibilities," Chen said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
A woman who allegedly spiked the food and drinks of an Australian man with rat poison, leaving him in intensive care, has been charged with attempted murder, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. The woman, identified by her surname Yang (楊), is accused of repeatedly poisoning Alex Shorey over the course of several months last year to prevent the Australian man from leaving Taiwan, prosecutors said in a statement. Shorey was evacuated back to Australia on May 3 last year after being admitted to intensive care in Taiwan. According to prosecutors, Yang put bromadiolone, a rodenticide that prevents blood from
China is likely to focus on its economy over the next four years and not set a timetable for attempting to annex Taiwan, a researcher at Beijing’s Tsinghua University wrote in an article published in Foreign Affairs magazine on Friday. In the article titled “Why China isn’t scared of Trump: US-Chinese tensions may rise, but his isolationism will help Beijing,” Chinese international studies researcher Yan Xuetong (閻學通) wrote that the US and China are unlikely to go to war over Taiwan in the next four years under US president-elect Donald Trump. While economic and military tensions between the US and China would
RSS