Taiwan’s delegation does not have plans to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Beijing next month, due to obstacles presented by flight schedules and COVID-19 prevention measures, the Sports Administration said.
Members of Taiwan’s 15-person delegation, including four athletes, have begun leaving for Beijing and are traveling in five groups from Taiwan, the US and Switzerland, Sports Administration Deputy Director-General Lin Che-hung (林哲宏) said on Friday.
As not all members of Taiwan’s delegation are able to arrive in Beijing by the Feb. 4 opening ceremony, it does not plan to take part, he said.
Photo: AFP
With the athletes having to take long flights and possibly being jet-lagged, it is best that they avoid large gatherings to prevent possible COVID-19 infections, he added.
“We want to let the athletes look after themselves so they can be ready to compete. We will therefore not participate in the opening ceremony,” Lin said.
Taiwan is not taking part in the Feb. 20 closing ceremony either because “not many” of the Taiwanese athletes would be in Beijing at the time, having left one or two days after their events, Lin said.
The athletes competing are speedskater Huang Yu-ting (黃郁婷), who is to compete in the women’s 500m, 1,000m, and 1,500m races; skiers Lee Wen-yi (李玟儀) and Ho Ping-jui (何秉睿), who is to appear in the men’s and women’s slalom; and Lin Sin-rong (林欣 蓉), who are to take part in the luge women’s singles.
Lin Sin-rong was among the first to arrive in Beijing on Friday.
The news that Taiwan would not take part in the ceremonies came a few days after the Sports Administration issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the government would not send representatives to Beijing.
While some countries are expressing opposition to Beijing’s human rights record by not sending diplomatic delegations, there was no indication from the government that avoiding the ceremonies was intended as a political statement.
Sports Administration Interim Director-General Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) said on Jan. 19 that he hoped Taiwanese athletes would do their best and refrain from taking political stances.
“We will try to uphold neutrality in international competition. The actions of certain governments should not influence our athletes’ ability to concentrate on their events,” he said.
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