Bobsledders deserve praise
I'm sure that people will make light of the fact that Taiwan finished last in bobsled, but I hope that they don't forget that Tai-wan qualified for the Olympics in European competition and finished the Olympic competition by completing all four runs. Some of the other teams in the competition did not finish.
Qualifying and finishing should be considered a huge achievement for the team, particularly in light of its lack of government support. Government officials often seem more interested in piggybacking on the athletes to get credentials for themselves to attend the Olympics and use some photos of athletes participating in the opening ceremonies as propaganda to show that Taiwan is a participating country, than doing anything substantive to help the athletes.
That the Taiwan team had to turn to a high school in Salt Lake City to get a sled makes a mockery of any claims the government can make that it supports its Olympians. These sled-ders and their local association have valiantly made sure Taiwan is represented in the international arena at the Winter Olympics since 1984 and deserve much more support from their government.
Taiwan was only one of two Asian countries to compete in the four-man bobsled, finishing behind Japan -- which has hosted the Winter Games twice and has bobsled tracks on its home soil. China, South Korea and North Korea weren't even entered -- all three countries that obviously would have much better potential for training winter sports athletes.
Hopefully, Taiwan's government will make a better effort to support its athletes in four years in Turin, Italy. If not, government officials should stay home and turn over their expense accounts to the athletes.
Jeffrey Wilson
Hong Kong
Editorials neglect issues
Aren't your editorial writers' eyes on the hole rather than the doughnut? Your editorial focus the last few days has been on US President George W. Bush's visit to China and former president Bill Clinton's comments and the demonizing of the latter and the glorification of the former.
Give the discrediting of Clinton a rest. When Clinton made his statements in China, he was playing realpolitik and doing nothing more than playing to US business interests that rely on trade with China because, in reality, the US Congress and the US Navy's 7th Fleet won't allow the forcible annexation of Taiwan by China. Meanwhile, Taiwanese business interests are allowing annexation to be peacefully accomplished now without a mention in the Taipei Times editorials.
Since I read economist Paul Alapat's comment "Taiwan is turning into an economic province of China" followed by the dismal figures that foreign investment in Taiwan dropped by one-third while Taiwanese investment in China increased by 7 percent; there has been no comment in your editorials on Alapat's prediction that "the hollowing out of Taiwan will continue" (Exodus hurting economy, Feb. 21, page 17).
US pragmatist George Santyana once said that Americans don't solve problems, they just ignore them. This must be one of the "universal values" that Taiwan shares with the US that your editorial referred to on Saturday ("China sidelined by free of freedom," Feb. 23, page 8).
Warren Weappa
Taipei
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