In an interview with the international press in Athens, first lady Wu Shu-jen (
Expressing disapproval of the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government's decision to call the nation "Chi-nese Taipei" at the Games, Wu said she would never have agreed to it if she had been in charge. The joint interview was attended by representatives from the BBC, AFP and La Libre Belgique, among others.
Wu said it is unreasonable that Taiwanese are not allowed to sing their national anthem and raise their national flag like other countries at the Games. Wu said she hoped the unfair regulation would one day be revoked to enable Taiwan athletes to sing their national anthem during the Games.
Dismissing suggestions that her holding a National Paralympic Committee (NPC) card was intended to provoke China, Wu said that her decision to lead the Taiwan Paralympic delegation was to fulfill a promise she made last October.
Wu referred to her words when meeting with the Taiwan delegation for the 2003 World Wheelchair Games last year, during which athletes expressed hope that she could head this delegation to this year's Paralympics. Wu agreed immediately, noting that her physical status should qualify her for the position.
Presidential Office Secre-tary-General Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday lauded Wu asf carrying out "best citizen diplomacy."
"Via interviews with international press, the first lady let Taiwan's voice be heard in the international arena and allowed the world to see Taiwan's remarkable achievements," Su said.
Wu attended the judo event yesterday to cheer for two players from Team Taiwan, Lee Ching-chung (
On Friday night, Wu attended the opening ceremony of the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games in her capacity as the head of the Taiwan delegation using her NPC card, the highest-level official pass for the event.
Wu, on the advice of accompanying staff and doctors, took a seat in the VIP zone during the opening ceremony instead of her original plan to lead the Team Taiwan in the parade around the arena. Wu was paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a truck in an assassination attempt in 1985.
According to delegation spokesman James Huang (
"The first lady had a pleasant exchange with the vice president of the Republic of Iran. They exchanged views on the experience of promoting sports events for the physically-challenged," Huang said. He added that International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Philip Craven of Sweden had wanted to introduce Sweden's queen to Wu, but the meeting did not happen because Wu had to enter the VIP zone.
Given that Deng Pufang (
While such interaction didn't take place Friday night, Huang said that a Chinese representative had seen Wu and a brief greeting took place.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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