With the closing ceremony of the World Games yesterday, the curtain came down on Taiwan’s first performance as host of an international sports event of this scale. During the Games, the efforts of Taiwan’s athletes, the efficiency of the organizers and the enthusiasm of volunteers helped the nation step into a new role in international sports. As a bonus, Taiwanese athletes took home a record number of medals. Taiwanese can be proud.
The Games, praised by International World Games Association president Ron Froehlich, reflected Taiwan’s best characteristics: sincerity, friendliness, enthusiasm, freedom and diversity.
Hosting the Games was no easy task — starting with Kaohsiung’s bid for the event. When former Kaohsiung mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) promoted the bid, many said it was a pipe dream. Pessimists said Taiwan had no experience hosting such a large sporting event and that China would block the bid.
Since Kaohsiung won the bid, control of the central government has passed from one party to another. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration obstructed preparations in a number of ways, but Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and the city’s residents continued their work. Chen took the initiative, making a surprise promotional visit to Beijing and Shanghai aimed at overcoming misunderstandings and ensuring China’s fullest possible support. Kudos to Chen and others who made the Games successful.
Under pressure from China, Taiwan has no choice but to take part in international sports events under the title “Chinese Taipei.” Taiwanese teams fly flags featuring the national flower rather than the national flag and the National Banner Song is played instead of the national anthem.
At previous international sporting events in Taiwan, such as the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup, KMT authorities and police collaborated with organizers to prevent spectators from waving the national flag. While the World Games were also held in accordance with the “Olympic model,” Chen welcomed all kinds of flags at the competition venues. With that, Kaohsiung set a precedent for upholding the nation’s dignity at international sporting events in Taiwan.
The main stadium in Kaohsiung was described by the New York Times as “a remarkably humane environment” that is “just as intoxicating” as Beijing’s Bird’s Nest.
The opening ceremony was a fusion of the local and the international, of tradition and technology. It displayed Taiwan’s cultural wealth, diversity and creativity and it is likely that the ceremony will leave a lasting impression on the millions of TV viewers who watched it.
KMT city councilors raised various objections during the planning period, and some skipped the opening ceremony. Slack ticket sales before the Games began seemed to indicate that he public was not very enthusiastic either. But once the Games got underway, crowds lined up to buy tickets and the closing ceremony was sold out.
The Kaohsiung City Government and the 7,000 or more volunteers who made the event possible all deserve credit.
The Kaohsiung World Games set a high standard for international sporting events in Taiwan. Next up are the Deaflympics in September in Taipei. The capital should do its best to match the success of the World Games.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of