Taiwan's Olympic gold medal mission got off to an official start at a ceremony yesterday in Taipei.
Chairman of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee Thomas Huang (黃大洲) was presented with the country's Olympic flag by new National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports Chairman Lin Te-fu (林德福).
Huang will lead a three-person delegation -- along with Taiwan's IOC delegates, Wu Ching-kuo (
Bobsled and luge association chairman Hsu Chi-you (許啟祐) will also be attending the Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The flag-handing over ceremony is traditionally held before every Olympics at which Taiwan's athletes compete.
A total of seven athletes and 14 officals are set to attend the Games.
At the flag-handing over ceremony Lin said that sending athletes to compete in the Winter Games provided a great opportunity to develop sporting links with the world.
"Sports," he said "is a good way of promoting a worldwide view of our athletes and the country of Taiwan."
In response, Huang said Taiwan was not a cold country, but could be proud because it still had athletes who participated in winter sports at the highest level.
Huang said he hoped Taiwan's athletes would be successful, but added safety concerns were paramount. "Most importantly, we hope they arrive and come back safely."
Taiwan's luge team will compete on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11, while the bobsled team competion will take place on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23.
Taiwan cannot use its national flag at international sporting events at the insistence of China and has used the Chinese Taipei Olympic Flag since 1980, following an International Olympic Committee resolution in 1979.
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