President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday asked for suggestions from Taiwanese athletes and coaches for a planned sports ministry during a party he hosted at the Presidential Office for those who competed in the recently concluded Paris Olympic Games.
Lai said he looked forward to input from all the Olympians, their coaches and the sports community for the planned sports ministry which can better serve the needs of Taiwanese athletes.
He was referring to the proposed upgrade of the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education into a ministry-level agency.
Photo: CNA
The Executive Yuan on Thursday set up a task force charged with drafting the necessary legal framework and making preliminary preparations for the upgraded agency.
Lai said that as a ministry, the agency would do more to focus on popularizing different types of sports, and pledged to make government resources available to help young Taiwanese pursue their sports dreams and build Taiwan into a sporting powerhouse.
At the party held in honor of the athletes who competed in Paris, their coaches and support teams, and referees who worked at the Olympics, Lai praised the athletes for their efforts, saying they “made the world see Taiwan” and “united the people of Taiwan.”
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Photojournalist Association
Sixty Taiwanese athletes competed in 16 events at the Paris Olympics, bringing home two gold medals and five bronzes.
Among those attending the party were female boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) and one half of the gold medal-winning men’s doubles badminton team, Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟).
Lai praised Lin for showing “grace” despite attacks on her gender.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Photojournalist Association
“I would like to thank Lin Yu-ting on behalf of the public,” he said.
“You won the respect and admiration of the public, not just because of how you performed in the boxing ring. It is the high standards and grace you showed outside the ring,” he added.
“You are not afraid of any attack. It is admirable that you still uphold the sporting spirit,” he said. “Everyone is proud of you.”
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Photojournalist Association
Also in attendance were four of the five bronze-medal winners: Female boxers Wu Shih-yi (吳詩儀) and Chen Nien-chin (陳念琴), male gymnast Tang Chia-hung (唐嘉鴻) and male sharpshooter Lee Meng-yuan (李孟遠).
Later in the afternoon, hundreds of fans thronged the streets in downtown Taipei as the medalists rode in open-top vehicles in a hero’s parade.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS