Sat, Aug 28, 2004 page8

• Editorial: Gold medals stir pride, and regret

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  The Olympic flag of the Chinese Taipei team was raised, and the National Flag Song (國旗歌) was played twice in Athens at a glorious moment late Thursday night. The tears of Taiwan's two Taekwondo gold medal winners at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games set Taiwanese aflame with emotion. After many years of waiting, our brilliant Taekwondo fighters finally captured the first two Olympic gold medals in the nation's history. It's even more joyous that the country won two golds in one night. Both women's Taekwondo contestant Chen Shih-hsin (陳詩欣) and men's Taekwondo contestant Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎) became national heroes overnight.

  Taekwondo and archery are not very popular sports events compared to the national sport, baseball -- and players' future prospects are relatively slim. However, these victories show that if the Taiwanese people carefully select events that are suitable for our physique and are willing to work hard, the investment will eventually pay off. The poor performance of Taiwan's baseball team was a disappointment. But problems in the nation's baseball development due to a lack of systematic cultivation and training is more worrisome.

  In fact, the success of our Taekwondo contestants and archers resulted from an accumulation of techniques, training and experience. This achievement is a consequence of the selfless devotion of our senior athletes and the blood and sweat of the newcomers.

  Unfortunately, year by year the nation's sports budget has been gradually reduced. This is the result of people judging the caliber of an athlete only by his or her victory or defeat. As a consequence, many sports have shrunk in Taiwan. It's admirable that our archers also accomplished their goals, given that their training ground was nothing more than a parking lot used after-hours.

  To encourage the public to participate in sports events and to cultivate outstanding sports talent, we need to use resources appropriately. This is not only a priority for people involved in sports, but is also crucial to the development of a diverse society.

  Chen and Chu's hard work have brought the nation before the eyes of the world. How glorious this is! These two gold medals will allow the country to stand proud on the international stage, and have given the nation incomparable assistance in focusing its striving for glory. These two historic gold medals have come just at the right time, for Taiwan really needs a victory. It needs such victories to divert attention from a wearying confrontation, to salve the wounds and grievances of its heart and to rediscover itself.

  The images of Chen and Chu winning their medals brought emotions of the Taiwanese masses -- sitting before their televisions late into the night -- to a fever pitch. The strains of the National Flag Song sounded so sweet, and the five-ringed Olympic flag looked beautiful.

  This was a moment of enormous pride -- but that pride was mixed with regret. For the flag was not Taiwan's national flag, and the music was not Taiwan's national anthem. Such are the compromises that the country must make in order to participate in international sports. It is not the sort of treatment that a normal nation would expect. Taiwan has to work harder to fight for the same kind of treatment other countries get as part of the international community.

  For this Olympics, Taiwan spared neither money nor effort to win international recognition. In the runup to the Olympics, it released advertisements with the slogan "Taiwan on the starting line," but these were removed by the Olympic Committee after pressure from China. Because of the excellent performance of its athletes, the nation was still able to shine at this international sports event -- proving the hard truth that "ability is everything." Taiwan has started the Olympic race, and it will only pick up the pace.
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