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Ma calls for ‘Tour de Taiwan,’ forgets there already is one

Wearing a light blue polo shirt and standing next to his bike, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday touted the benefits of cycling in his weekly online video, saying that Taiwan, as the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer, should have a “Tour de Taiwan” competition around the island.

However, an international event called the Tour de Taiwan already exists.

In a three-minute video clip shot in front of the Presidential Office, begins by praising the determination shown by competitors in the Tour de France and reminiscing about the 675km cycling tour he took around the country during his presidential campaign.

On that trip, he said, it struck him that Taiwan, as the leading maker of bicycles, should have its own race inspired by the Tour de France.

In reality, the Tour de Taiwan has been held since 1978, when it began as an international invitational event sponsored by local bicycle manufacturers like Giant Manufacturing.

The Tour de Taiwan has since been recognized by the Union Cycliste Internationale as an annual international cycling event.

Ma said he had started a “rite of passage” program in which youth are encouraged to cycle a certain number of kilometers.

“Tomorrow morning I will meet 100 20-year-old cyclists who completed a tour around the island,” Ma said. “I hope to share my riding experiences with them and I hope to turn cycling into one of Taiwan’s unique cultures.”

Ma said that in recent years, the government had invested a lot of money into making Taiwan a bike-friendly country. More than 1,100km of bike paths have been built and the government plans another 1,500km, he said.

Meanwhile, Web users combing Ma’s weekly video for mistakes criticized him for an error in his July 25 video.

In the clip, Ma says he will never forget being introduced by International World Games Association President Ron Froehlich as “president of the Republic of China” at the opening of the World Games in Kaohsiung on July 16.

Ma said Froehlich’s last name in English, but the Chinese subtitles translated Froehlich’s name incorrectly as “Fo Langqi” (佛朗契) rather than the official translation, “Lang Foqi” (朗佛契).

“You [Ma] should be more careful, especially considering you met him [Froehlich] in person at the opening ceremony,” an Internet user with the screen name “ianchen0524” wrote on the Bulletin Board System (BBS) PTT.

On the online social networking and micro-blogging service Plurk.com, a user with the screen name “icg508” said he wanted to pinch Ma’s cheek to make him “keep a little more awake.”

PTT user “lzhhilly,” on the other hand, said the Presidential Office should reward the first person to notice the error.

“Lzhhilly” was referring to the Presidential Office’s reaction to a blunder discovered by Internet users last month, when Ma pre-recorded his speech rather than producing it weekly as the Presidential Office had claimed.

At the time, the Presidential Office said it would present a gift to reward the anonymous Internet user who revealed the gaffe.

Also See: Bicycle paths have hidden dangers
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