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.
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