President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the remarks at a news conference at CKS International Airport, which was held shortly after the arrival of Wu and accompanying staff and reporters from a nine-day stay in Athens.
PHOTO: TONY YAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Noting Wu's frail condition, Chen said he had been concerned about the strain the journey might pose on her from the moment she decided to accompany the Taiwan Paralympic Team to Athens.
Wu, who is paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a truck in an assassination attempt in 1985, had also mentioned prior to the trip that she was suffering from hemorrhoids.
"Little did we know, it turned out that A-jen's physical status would not be the cause of our worry," the president said, calling Wu by her nickname, "but rather the other side of the Strait, which hoped to prevent Wu from attending the Paralympic Games as head of Team Taiwan."
Two days before Wu and Team Taiwan departed for Athens, Chen said, they received two letters from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) stating three conditions. These included asking Wu to revoke her position as head of Taiwan Paralympic team, not to host any open social banquets and not to hold news conferences or receive interviews with international media.
In the end they decided to go ahead with the trip to Athens and work to protect their rights on the spot, Chen said.
"Yet we still ran into problems when we arrived [in Athens]," said Chen, referring to the hoopla surrounding Wu's status when the IPC, supposedly due to pressure from Beijing, announced last Tuesday that it had replaced Wu as head of the delegation with Linda Chen (陳李稠), and had downgraded Wu's NPC card, the highest-level official pass for the event, to the less prestigious "transferable guest" card.
After a protest lodged by the delegation, the IPC and Team Taiwan representatives reached an understanding that Wu could attend all relevant activities in her capacity as head of the team and that both sides agreed there would be no further discussion about the issue -- a solution that saved face for everyone.
Expressing gratitude for effort by staff and that the whole thing had come to a happy ending, Chen said that "not only did we work to uphold our national dignity ... but we also were able to do all we planned to do."
For instance, Wu got to keep her NPC card, visited the athletes village, hosted a banquet for foreign dignitaries and held interviews with the international press.
Expressing gratitude for the Greek government's assistance and the security it provided, Chen suggested the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports re-assess its awards based on the principle of fairness for paralympic athletes who win medals in the games.
Taiwanese regulations offer far more prize money to Olympic medalists than their Paralympic counterparts
Wu said she was happy to have led the Taiwan delegation to Athens and that despite some disturbance, Taiwan had still been able to take part in the games.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS