The national Olympic team yesterday departed for Japan to compete in the Tokyo Games starting on Friday.
The 134-strong Olympic delegation includes officials, support staff and 68 athletes, who are to compete in 18 sports through Aug. 8.
Taiwan is competing in the Games under the name Chinese Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The delegation is led by Taiwan’s top female weightlifter, Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳), who is to carry the team flag at the opening ceremony. It also includes world No. 1 women’s singles badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎), as well as athletes who are to compete in cycling, taekwondo, judo, shooting, canoeing, rowing and archery events.
Taiwan is also to compete in swimming, artistic gymnastics, table tennis, boxing and tennis, among other events.
Team members wore the red, white and blue uniform of the national squad and matching masks as they boarded their chartered flight. They traveled in one group to avoid coming into contact with others, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳), Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) and other government officials were at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to give the team an official send-off.
The government had urged Taiwanese not to visit the airport to send off the team due to the pandemic. The team’s departure was livestreamed online.
A smaller group of Taiwanese athletes and support staff arrived in Tokyo last week and several similar small groups are scheduled to depart Taiwan for Japan in the following days.
Disease prevention coordinators are among the support staff for the first time, due to the pandemic.
The Sports Administration is targeting medals in weightlifting, badminton, artistic gymnastics, boxing, archery, javelin and karate.
Taiwan won one gold and two bronze medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Yesterday, controversy erupted after Tai posted an Instagram story of herself sitting in economy class during the flight to Tokyo.
Pan had last year said that the nation’s Olympic team would travel in business class.
Su on Facebook last night said that he called Tai to apologize and instructed the Sports Administration to convey the government’s apologies to the rest of the team.
“The heroes of the Olympics are the athletes, not the accompanying officials,” Su said, after reports emerged that coaches and medics traveled in business class.
Su said that after the Olympics, he would instruct the Ministry of Education to report on the matter and hold those responsible to account.
The Sports Administration last night said that the athletes were seated in economy because of their number and the need to space them apart due to COVID-19 concerns.
On the return flight, it pledged to prioritize athletes for business-class seating.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including