Former Olympic medalist Chi Cheng (紀政) yesterday said the overall performance of Taiwanese athletes at the Beijing Olympics have shown major improvements from the past.
“Although we won only four bronze medals this year, which was less than what we earned in 2004 ... in general, they [the athletes] are doing quite well,” said Chi, who won the bronze medal in the 80m low hurdles in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Chi made the remarks yesterday at a ceremony hosted by the Sports Affairs Council (SAC) to greet the Taiwanese athletes upon their return.
PHOTO: CNA
Chi specifically referred to the performance of tennis player Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳) and badminton player Hsieh Yu-hsing (謝裕興).
Lu beat two high-ranked competitors before he entered the third round, whereas Hsieh made it into the men’s semi-final match. Both have set Taiwanese sports records.
Council Minister Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) said the council will soon convene a meeting attended by representatives from sports associations and academia to jointly review the nation’s performance at the Olympic Games.
“The Asian Games is coming in 2010, and there is no time to lose,” Tai said, adding the council is in the process of drafting their “London plan,” which will target performances at the London Olympics in 2012.
The plan will help the council secure specific funding for the Olympics from the Executive Yuan, she said.
During yesterday’s ceremony, the four bronze medal winners — weightlifters Chen Wei-ling (陳葦綾) and Lu Ying-chi (盧映錡), as well as taekwondo athletes Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎) and Sung Yu-chi (宋玉麒) — received National Honor Medals from Premier Liu Chao-hsuan (劉兆玄).
Athletes competing in other categories, such softball and archery, were also recognized.
Taekwondo heroine Su Li-wen (蘇麗文) and the baseball team did not appear at the ceremony yesterday.
Su had a medical appointment after her meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) earlier in the day.
The baseball team, on the other hand, asked for a leave of absence because the players were scheduled to compete in Chinese Professional Baseball League games yesterday morning.
At a separate setting yesterday, Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) announced the ministry would seek to establish a joint task force with the SAC to discuss career planning for the nation’s athletes.
Cheng made the remark after National Taiwan Normal University and National Chung Cheng University both offered Su instructor spots upon Su’s return on Monday night.
“Some of the [Olympic] athletes received offers, but how about those who did not?” Cheng said, adding that the ministry and the council would discuss ways to improve the nation’s training system and retirement policies for athletes.
He proposed that the nation should concentrate its resources on training athletes in specific disciplines, such as weightlifting.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
Also See: Taiwanese baseball player suspended one year for doping
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition