Taiwan achieved its best performance by winning six medals, including two gold, during the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, which held its closing ceremony yesterday. However, one of the most famous heroes of Taiwan's delegation is not an athlete but the Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office James Huang (
Huang, 46-years-old, was promoted from the post of Presidential Office spokesman to his current job after President Chen Shui-bian's (
These 16 years of training in diplomacy became one of Huang's most valuable assets, because he developed excellent skills in countering China's pressures in the international arena.
During the 2001's Shanghai APEC meeting, Chen originally assigned former vice president Li Yuan-zu (
Even when Taiwan's representative delegation had arrived in Shanghai, they still had to negotiate with the Chinese government and were unable to break through China's blockade.
Later the Presidential Office disclosed that among the delegation, the key person who was able to think clearly and tactically was James Huang, who at the time was still a deputy section chief
"Though our delegation on the front lines was bullied in the negotiation process, Huang's quick responses and coordination of staff was the reason that the delegation was able to stay together. It could be descirbed as Huang's first triumphant battle, and was the reason that Chen decided to promote this professional and skillful bureaucrat to become the spokesperson for the presidential office," Premier Yu Shyi-kun said.
At the time, Yu was the secretary-general of the Presidential Office.
During the past three years, Huang passed numerous tests to win the trust of not only the first family, but also Vice President Annette Lu (
During the Athens Paralympic Games, Huang served as the commander of the delegation, instead of a technical staff member. Huang made all of the decisions during the negotiations with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and ultimately ensured Wu's dignity and the delegation's rights were protected.
"China's tactics this time were to try to lock up the first lady inside Taiwan, or failing that, inside the hotel in Athens, silencing her voice and making her invisible. But we were able to come out of that, our goal was achieved and we outsmarted China's tactic," Huang told the Taipei Times.
The first lady led Taiwan's delegation to Athens on Sept. 11, and returned to Taiwan on Sept. 20. During her 10-day trip, an IPC spokesman admitted during an interview with Agence France Presse that it suffered pressure from China.
The IPC asked Wu to stop all public activities and even tried to cancel Wu's National Paralympics Committee (NPC) card, which is a top-class VIP card given to the heads of National Paralympics delegations.
"However, the IPC made many tactical mistakes, and on the contrary, we completely defended our bottom line by being well prepared with all bargaining chips," Huang said.
"When we arrived in Athens, the IPC began threatening to take back the first lady's NPC card as well as canceling her qualifications as the Taiwanese delegation's head. I wrote letters to the IPC every day to strongly express our protests," Huang said. "I think that we won because we displayed our resolution and also made the effort of avoiding making damages to IPC's reputation."
The turning point for the deadlock between the IPC and the delegation on how to recognize Wu was a meeting on Sept. 26 between Huang and IPC officials.
"I told them that I will hold an international press conference and publicize all the documents the IPC gave us, to prove how the IPC inappropriately interfered with Taiwan's rights and was reckless in its treatment of a wheelchair-bound lady," Huang said
"I made a concession promising that I would not proceed with the official procedure of confirming Wu's NPC card, which meant that the IPC could tell China it canceled our card, but the conditions are that IPC could not question Wu's position as Taiwan delegation's head nor block or interfere with all of Wu's public appearances," Huang said.
The IPC accepted Huang's suggestion, which ultimately ensured that the first lady accomplished a successful mission and the IPC also had an excuse to interact with China.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS