Reforming sports bodies
In an article published last week (“Government must boost support for top athletes,” Aug. 14, page 8), Charles Yu (余宗龍), head of National Chung Hsing University’s Graduate Institute of Sports Health and Management, wrote that the government should push every sports association to perform better.
I could not agree more.
Sports associations should undergo thorough reform and be headed by professionals.
Most of the chairs of domestic sports associations are filled by political figures, either legislators or city councilors. The biggest function of the associations in electing political figures as chairs is to help them obtain bigger budgets, but the biggest drawback is that the political figures are outsiders.
The political figures might be interested in the sport, but they are not specialized in the field, or they are restricted by their time and energy, so they cannot devote themselves to an association.
It is difficult to promote association affairs normally and it is more difficult to formulate a plan for the sustainable operations.
Not long ago, Taiwanese badminton star Lee Yang (李洋), who won another Olympic gold in Paris, said that he intends to run for the chairmanship of the Chinese Taipei Badminton Association. I think that this is a very good plan, as Lee won gold medals in the men’s doubles at two Olympics and he has been involved in the sport all his life. I believe that he knows the strengths and weaknesses of the badminton association and how it should be developed, and as long as he is willing to devote himself to the task, he would be able to secure the job and bring new life to the body.
Many Taiwanese sports veterans are to retire after the Paris Olympics. Apart from Lee, there is also Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵) in table tennis, Tai Tzu-ying (戴姿穎) in badminton and Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) in tennis. If they can make use of their expertise to take up leadership of the associations that run their sports, it would definitely have a positive catalytic effect on the revitalization of sports culture and the associations’ performance.
The Chinese Taipei Tennis Association has been criticized for its lack of impartiality and has been a source of controversy for years, which has created longstanding unresolved resentment among the players while affecting Taiwan’s performance at international competitions. This problem would continue unless the association is reformed.
Physical strength is national strength. The Olympic Games are also a great opportunity for countries to show off their strength. Countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea were impressive this time. Taiwan should start by introducing reforms to sports associations and let professionals lead them, so we can have greater expectations about the future of sports and athletic development.
Now that the Paris Olympics have ended and the countdown to the Los Angeles Olympics four years from now has begun, Taiwan should begin to think of ways to find more outstanding athletes, hire more outstanding coaches and build more sports venues that are up to international standards.
Meanwhile, it should reform sports associations so that professionals can take the lead. By taking multiple measures like this, we can lay the foundation of victory for the next Olympic Games and even for the long-term development of sports in the country.
Tsai Tien
Taipei
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS