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DEAFLYMPICS: Deaflympics a success, not flawless

Taipei City councilors and residents said the Deaflympics raised the city’s international profile, but criticized the Taipei City Government for devoting too much effort to the opening and closing ceremonies while ignoring facilities, transportation and organization.

The 11-day Deaflympics began on Sept. 5 with a grand opening ceremony and ended on Tuesday night with an outdoor banquet and performances, attracting applause from International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) president Donalda Ammons and many others for the city government and the Deaflympics organizing committee’s dedication in hosting the Games.

Taipei City councilors across the political spectrum, however, said the city government failed to demonstrate the city’s strengths in many ways, including the venues, the programs and transportation.

“The city government won the hosting right in 2003, but failed to build an international-standard swimming pool and had to hold the swimming event in Hsinchu instead,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said.

Deaflympics venues were scattered around the city, Taipei County, Taoyuan County and Hsichu County. An accident, in which a US beach volleyball athlete was hurt by stepping on a needle on a beach, also highlighted the city government’s lack of effort in preparing the venues, he said.

DPP Taipei City Councilor Huang Hsiang-chun (黃向群) criticized the city government for spending NT$600 million (US$18 million) on the opening and closing ceremonies while ignoring the Games.

Careless mistakes and small incidents throughout the Games, including hanging the wrong flags at award ceremonies and missing scoring monitors at a bowling venue, cast a shadow on the athletes’ outstanding performances.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chen Yu-mei (陳玉梅) said she and many councilors had urged the city government and the organizing committee to devote more effort to transportation arrangements and volunteer training, but the city government did not take their advice seriously.

The city government set up a shuttle bus transfer center in Neihu, resulting in unnecessary travel time for the athletes and causing traffic congestion, she said.

Taipei resident Andrea Chang, who went to a tennis match at the Rainbow Riverside Park, described the venue as a “tennis court at a middle school” with poor facilities.

Chris Chen, another Taipei resident who attended the World Games in Kaohsiung in July, said public participation in the World Games was more extensive than the Deaflympics, as almost every event he attended at the World Games sold out.

“The Deaflympics and the World Games were both great, but I felt a greater sense of participation from the residents of Kaohsiung,” he said.

New Party Taipei City Councilor Wang Hong-wei (王鴻薇) commended the city government’s efforts in hosting the Games, but urged it to learn from its mistakes and do better in promoting the city during the Flora Expo next year.
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