Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), who has been a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1988, yesterday said that before he retires in 10 years, he hopes to see not just a few, but a large pool of younger Taiwanese people who would be able to take over his job in the world sports organization.
Wu is the IOC Executive Committee and Cultural and Olympic Heritage Commission chairman.
“First, you need to love sports, as it is your work, which should not be boring or tedious,” Wu, 70, said of the “job requirements” for people interested in becoming an international sports leader.
“Secondly, fluency in English is a basic requirement. It is a tool for you to communicate with people from around the world. If you speak other languages, that would be even better,” he said.
“You also need to carry yourself in a manner that represents Taiwan — energetic, civilized, very bright and cheerful. Integrity is of particular importance,” said Wu, who is also known as the “reformist” president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
He said family upbringing is also critical, since those who have been immersed in good moral values such as a sense of right and wrong, and justice and fairness, make good leaders in many sectors, including sports.
Young people should not to accept a bribe if they ever become a sports official, Wu said on Saturday at the University of Taipei.
He said he had to fire several AIBA vice presidents and secretaries-general to overhaul the association and present the image of a clean sports organization.
“We are in sports to make contributions, not to make a profit,” he said.
Wu donated a scholarship to the university to sponsor a thesis competition on two topics: international sports organizations and the global sports industry.
He also hopes to recruit interns to learn real-world operations in various international organizations, including in Lausanne, Switzerland, home to the IOC.
Besides being an IOC member, Wu is vice chair of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, whose mission is to unite, promote and support the International Summer Olympic Federations.
“I am still scouting for potential candidates for my job. I am not hoping just to see a few, but a large pool of talented and enthusiastic sports fans to fill my jobs in the coming years,” Wu said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai