The Doha Asian Games have confirmed the dominance of China in Asian athletic sports. The Chinese landed 316 medals, 165 of them gold -- just under three times the number of second-placed South Korea.
Taiwan's modest haul of nine gold medals, 10 silver and 27 bronze for a total of 46 medals was nonetheless a reasonably pleasing achievement. If any one element hurt Taiwan in gaining more medals, it was a lack of aggression and a tendency toward resignation at key moments where other athletes seemed to press on regardless of their standing.
There are no doubt several reasons for this, but it must be said again that competing for a nation whose flag, anthem and other symbols are banned in international sporting contests must be prominent among them.
We were again treated to the sight of a Taiwanese gold medalist enthusiastically saluting a flag forced upon this country by the International Olympic Committee and China. Some athletes may not care too much about the role of nationalism in sports as long as they achieve personal greatness, but if there are others in the Taiwanese athletes' village who do care, this act would generate mixed feelings. One thing is for certain: There is nothing inspiring about a flag that symbolizes denial of sovereignty.
Taiwan did well in the three tennis codes, cue sports, taekwondo, baseball and softball, as expected. But just as delightful as the gold medals were the efforts of less conspicuous athletes in less popular sports: bronzes in men's weightlifting, men's and women's shot put, and a silver medal for Jasmine Chen (
Unfortunately, a good proportion of Taiwanese performances were unavailable to viewers because of the erratic coverage of ESPN and Star Sports.
On too many occasions the Taiwanese feeds for these cable stations screened events recorded the night before that had nothing to do with Taiwan at the expense of live coverage of Taiwanese medal contenders.
Taiwan is not at the level of feverish sports devotion that would see these channels punished in the marketplace, but it is to be hoped that as time goes on this will change. Certainly, with this year's soccer World Cup, public pressure saw telecasts reduce the number and format of mid-game advertising.
Before the Asian Games started, National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Chairman Chen Chuan-shou (
It would be a good thing if Chen now followed through with his pledge and quit, not because 15 medals is a particularly meaningful target, but because lame political theatrics and the cultivation of sporting excellence do not make good partners.
Taiwan's athletes deserve more than lead-footed Cabinet officials with a penchant for the short term and dramatic flourishes. With less than two years until the Beijing Olympics and all of the nationalist grist for the mill that those Games will offer, the government would do well to take the affairs of its sportspeople a little more seriously.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 said that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as early as this year as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India and the India Taipei Association. Signed in February 2024, the MOU stipulates that Taipei would decide the number of migrant workers and which industries would employ them, while New Delhi would manage recruitment and training. Employment would be governed by the laws of both countries. Months after its signing, the two sides agreed that 1,000 migrant workers from India would
In recent weeks, Taiwan has witnessed a surge of public anxiety over the possible introduction of Indian migrant workers. What began as a policy signal from the Ministry of Labor quickly escalated into a broader controversy. Petitions gathered thousands of signatures within days, political figures issued strong warnings, and social media became saturated with concerns about public safety and social stability. At first glance, this appears to be a straightforward policy question: Should Taiwan introduce Indian migrant workers or not? However, this framing is misleading. The current debate is not fundamentally about India. It is about Taiwan’s labor system, its
Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as US President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies, and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons supplies. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base. Her government would formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters. Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World War II, Japan spends enough on its own
On March 31, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released declassified diplomatic records from 1995 that drew wide domestic media attention. One revelation stood out: North Korea had once raised the possibility of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In a meeting with visiting Chinese officials in May 1995, as then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) prepared for a visit to South Korea, North Korean officials objected to Beijing’s growing ties with Seoul and raised Taiwan directly. According to the newly released records, North Korean officials asked why Pyongyang should refrain from developing relations with Taiwan while China and South Korea were expanding high-level
RSS