On Aug. 8, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics took place with a stunning, multi-hour show that displayed China’s old, delicate culture to the world through a combination of art and technology. As an ethnic Chinese, I felt an inkling of pride, but as a Taiwanese, it left me somewhat upset.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), KMT Chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) were all invited to the Beijing Olympics. In the past, these men have been premier (Lien), chairmen of the provincial government (Lien and Soong), provincial governor (Soong) or Taipei mayor (Wu).
If all they had done was sit in their VIP seats in the Bird’s Nest and politely clap during the opening ceremony without thinking about what was actually taking place, the nature of their visit to China would be no different from Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen’s (鄺麗貞) trips to Europe.
For the past 20 years, Taiwan has faced oppression and received unfair treatment on the international sports scene. Despite its efforts, Taiwan continues to be controlled by other countries, with little choice but to take the humiliation and insults quietly.
Regardless of these difficulties, we must ask ourselves why Taiwan has failed to make any headway in the areas we can control. Taipei has a severe shortage of sports facilities and for many years members of the Cabinet’s Sports Affairs Council have been afraid to speak up in the Cabinet and failed to develop and promote sports in Taiwan.
Since Chunghua Stadium, which was located on Nanjing E Road, burned to the ground 20 years ago, Taipei City has not had a decent indoor sports stadium. As a result, international sports competitions, professional basketball and premier league events have been held at venues of poor quality.
The Taipei Arena, which took a lot of time and effort to build, has been underused, mostly as a result of high rent, which stems from a decision by then-Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to contract out to expensive construction companies. Very few sports events are held at Taipei Arena, which is now a popular venue for ice-skating, shows and award ceremonies.
From these examples, it is clear that the government has not paid enough attention to sports, a situation highlighted by the failure of government and party officials to take decisive action or propose bold initiatives to promote sports in Taiwan.
Though it is now being renovated, the Taipei Municipal Stadium was left in a state of disuse for many years and does not meet the requirements for hosting international sports events. The Chungshan Soccer Stadium has also not had a decent soccer event for a long time.
Not even with the Democratic Progressive Party’s Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) serving as president of the Chinese Taipei Football Association did things improve. So far, the only successful events to have been held there were music concerts.
Although the council is in charge of Taiwan’s national sports policies, it has always had an awkward, unclear role. At a time when changes are being made to streamline the government, it has been said several times that the council may be downsized or subsumed into other organizations.
All in all, its future remains uncertain.
Poor performance is of course another reason for this situation.
The lack of importance attached to the council and its members is another reason why Taiwan’s sports scene is in such a deplorable state.
When the president and the premier mention sports, it is always only in passing and they show no determination and do not offer any suggestions to improve the situation.
This atmosphere makes it difficult to appoint suitable members to the council. When Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) appointed his Cabinet, he made some very hasty decisions about who should be in charge of sports.
We cannot just sit around fantasizing about how many medals we might win at the Olympics at the expense of long-term goals and solutions.
Some past council members were given their position as reward for previous work and to mediate between people with different political views. Furthermore, more than half of them speak poor English.
At a time when we are trying to gain more international exposure and support, Taiwan cannot make progress with such officials. Our athletes are already suffering the bitter consequences of Taiwan’s inability to promote its sports on the international stage.
Kaohsiung will be hosting the World Games next year.
However, are we ready for them? Former deputy Kaohsiung Mayor Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) took a group of people to the Beijing Olympics to learn more about hosting sports events. It is very important that this group of people come back from Beijing with a better understanding of how to host large-scale sports events.
Although the Olympics and the World Games are two very different events in terms of scale and importance, one can only hope that the government will tell its people not to be complacent.
The International Deaflympic Games will be held in Taipei next year. Here again, the Cabinet should avoid playing politics and do its utmost to support the events.
These are the only international events Taiwan will be hosting as a nation. Taiwanese must put on a good show and impress the world. Everyone in Taiwan needs to get behind Kaohsiung and Taipei in the true Taiwanese spirit of never giving up.
These are some of the things we should be thinking about as we watch the Olympics in Beijing.
Yang Chu-kuang is a senior journalist.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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