Team Taiwan will come away from the 2004 Athens Olympics with five medals -- two gold, two silver and one bronze -- having at last realized its dream of joining the ranks of the world's athletic champions.
The team secured the biggest medal tally in the nation's Olympic history, ranking 31st in the final medals table out of a total of 202 countries participating -- an improvement of 28 places from its standing of 58th following the Sydney Games in 2000.
"My dream has come true, and we are satisfied with the result of the nation's first gold medals. I will feel no regrets, even though I have to retire," said Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from Taiwan.
In addition to the taekwondo athletes Chu Mu-yen (
The 17-day Athens Olympics was to end with a glorious closing ceremony last night, in which some 40 Taiwanese athletes were to represent the country's delegation. The event was to be festive, cosmopolitan and stylish.
Unlike the opening ceremony, the details of the closing ceremony were not kept secret. From Aug. 24, for three successive days, dress rehearsals were underway in a small area next to where the opening ceremony was held. A single spotlight was used in these proceedings, which otherwise took place in pitch darkness, so that photographers could not take pictures of them.
The ceremony was to begin at 2:15am Taiwan time.
Weather forecasters were predicting a clear evening in Athens, with the moon visible in the sky.
The closing ceremony's designer, Dimitris Papaioannou told a news conference that he wanted to enable the whole world to experience the happiness of a Greek festival and to take part in a Greek feast, before declaring that although the Athens Olympics is now over, the excitement of the event will always remain in the hearts of the people of the world.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster
RSS