Despite political pressure and attempts from Beijing to bar first lady Wu Shu-jen (
"There is no question that the first lady is still serving as the head of Taiwan's paralympic delegation because she has been officially invited to the Games and was given a National Paralympic Committee card, which is the top-class official card," said James Huang (
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang clarified an erroneous news report in the local media, according to which Wu would return to Taiwan immediately after allegedly being disallowed to attend the opening ceremony and has been deprived of the position as the Taiwan team's leader.
"The first lady will certainly be present at the opening ceremony on Friday, she represents the nation and she will be present at all public official activities," Huang said.
"However, as usual, we have suffered some setbacks while negotiating with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Athens Organizational Committee," he said.
Huang did not directly accuse China of putting pressure on the committee to block Wu's participation, but merely said that, "you know where the dark force comes from."
"We have to continually negotiate with the IPC to solve problems. We sincerely hope that it can put aside political concerns to respect the spirit of the Paralympic Games," he said.
The first lady received an invitation from IPC President Philip Craven in November last year to lead the Taiwan team to the 2004 Paralympic Games.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Office issued a statement condemning China for sparing no effort to put pressure on Taiwan in the international community, saying that the government will cautiously cope with China's tricks and firmly defend the rights of Taiwan's athletes as well as the dignity of the nation.
"She [Wu] is eminently qualified to lead the team because she is disabled and also serves as honorary chairwoman of the Chinese-Taipei Paralympic Committee. She has devoted herself to the promotion of sports events for the disabled in Taiwan," the statement said.
Cho Jung-tai (
Wu and the delegation, including 25 athletes and some 30 journalists, arrived in Athens yesterday after a 13-hour flight. They enjoyed a high-profile reception from the government of Greece as well as a warm welcome from many overseas Taiwanese in Athens.
Huang denied that there was any political reason behind Wu being forced to cancel parts of her schedule yesterday, including meeting with Craven and visiting Taiwan's athletes.
"Deciding not to interfere with the athletes' training, and considering that Mr. Craven is very busy, the meeting has been rearranged," Huang said.
About 4,000 athletes from 145 countries will take part in the games, which are held in the same year and at the same venue as the summer Olympic Games.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique