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.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
RSS