The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned what it called discrimination against Taiwan by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) after it declined to recognize first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) as leader of Taiwan's delegation to the Paralympic Games in Athens.
In a letter addressed to Linda Chen (陳李綢), president of Taiwan's National Paralympic Committee (NPC), on Monday, the IPC explained its policy prevented anyone who was not a serving NPC president, secretary-general or vice president from assuming team leadership at the Games.
"For this reason, the only persons entitled to NPC accreditation in the case of Chinese Taipei are: Ms. Linda Chen as the NPC President and Mr. Liu Pei-ling [
It added: "As agreed before, Ms. Wu Shu-chen and her party can be accredited as GTs [transferable guest]."
Chen, who traveled to Malaysia on Wu's behalf to apply for an NPC card in July, said she clearly told the Paralympics authorities at the time that Wu would lead Taiwan's team to the Games.
"They happily accepted that Wu is the leader of our team, not me. If they intend to oppress us by appointing me as leader of our team, I will not accept that," she told reporters.
The IPC was merely looking for an excuse in citing the regulation, ministry spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said.
"The ministry has checked the identities of leaders of Paralympic teams from 145 countries. The leaders of teams from Australia, New Zealand, Honduras, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Germany, Belgium, Nigeria, the US and South Africa do not fit the IPC accreditation policy either," he said.
"The IPC apparently discriminated against Taiwan," Lu said, adding the ministry was indignant that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan (
China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman, Zhang Mingqing (
China's "irrational and inappropriate" interference in the Games was absolutely unacceptable, Lu said.
He said Wu would continue her original schedule in Athens and that the ministry supported all decisions made by Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General James Huang (黃志芳), who is accompanying Wu.
"The IPC's bullying is unendurable. It succumbed to behind-the-scenes forces of darkness to oppress Taiwan," Huang said on Tuesday.
If the leaders of other teams to the Games had been either NPC presidents or secretaries-general, Taiwan would not have objected to the IPC's request to change the leader of Taiwan's team, Huang said.
But many others among the team leaders were neither presidents or secretaries-general, he said.
"The IPC's maneuvering is quite simply brutal," Huang added. "Is Taiwan a second-class member of the IPC?"
Taiwan's team has sent a protest letter to the IPC and requested a response be made as soon as possible, Huang said.
"We will of course not accept the GT card which the IPC offered to Wu. The cards are the lowest level of all VIP cards. It is just absurd that the IPC downgraded Wu's NPC card to a lowly GT card," he said.
The Presidential Office said yesterday that Wu made an appearance at the Paralympics Athletes Village on Tuesday to boost the Taiwanese athletes' morale in her capacity "as leader of the Taiwan team."
After the meeting, Wu visited an archeological museum in Athens in the afternoon.
She hosted a dinner banquet for seven Greek congressmen at the hotel where she is staying, a press release said.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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