President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the remarks at a news conference at CKS International Airport, which was held shortly after the arrival of Wu and accompanying staff and reporters from a nine-day stay in Athens.
PHOTO: TONY YAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Noting Wu's frail condition, Chen said he had been concerned about the strain the journey might pose on her from the moment she decided to accompany the Taiwan Paralympic Team to Athens.
Wu, who is paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a truck in an assassination attempt in 1985, had also mentioned prior to the trip that she was suffering from hemorrhoids.
"Little did we know, it turned out that A-jen's physical status would not be the cause of our worry," the president said, calling Wu by her nickname, "but rather the other side of the Strait, which hoped to prevent Wu from attending the Paralympic Games as head of Team Taiwan."
Two days before Wu and Team Taiwan departed for Athens, Chen said, they received two letters from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) stating three conditions. These included asking Wu to revoke her position as head of Taiwan Paralympic team, not to host any open social banquets and not to hold news conferences or receive interviews with international media.
In the end they decided to go ahead with the trip to Athens and work to protect their rights on the spot, Chen said.
"Yet we still ran into problems when we arrived [in Athens]," said Chen, referring to the hoopla surrounding Wu's status when the IPC, supposedly due to pressure from Beijing, announced last Tuesday that it had replaced Wu as head of the delegation with Linda Chen (陳李稠), and had downgraded Wu's NPC card, the highest-level official pass for the event, to the less prestigious "transferable guest" card.
After a protest lodged by the delegation, the IPC and Team Taiwan representatives reached an understanding that Wu could attend all relevant activities in her capacity as head of the team and that both sides agreed there would be no further discussion about the issue -- a solution that saved face for everyone.
Expressing gratitude for effort by staff and that the whole thing had come to a happy ending, Chen said that "not only did we work to uphold our national dignity ... but we also were able to do all we planned to do."
For instance, Wu got to keep her NPC card, visited the athletes village, hosted a banquet for foreign dignitaries and held interviews with the international press.
Expressing gratitude for the Greek government's assistance and the security it provided, Chen suggested the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports re-assess its awards based on the principle of fairness for paralympic athletes who win medals in the games.
Taiwanese regulations offer far more prize money to Olympic medalists than their Paralympic counterparts
Wu said she was happy to have led the Taiwan delegation to Athens and that despite some disturbance, Taiwan had still been able to take part in the games.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS