Taiwanese athletes who won medals at the Asian Games and their coaches are to receive total prize money of more than NT$350 million (US$11.39 million) from a national scholarship program.
Taiwan’s delegation to this year’s Asian Games won a total of 17 gold, 19 silver and 31 bronze medals, ranking seventh among the 37 nations or regions competing in the Games.
It was the second-best performance in the nation’s sports history, following 19 golds won at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.
Photo: AFP
The Guo Guang Athletic Medals and Scholarships (國光體育獎章及獎助學金頒發辦法) awards program was established by the government to reward athletes based on their performance at major international games, such as the Olympic Games, Asian Games, World Games, Universiade Games and other official events.
Athletes who win gold at the Asian Games are given NT$3 million and those who win silver are paid NT$1.5 million, while those who win bronze are given NT$900,000, according to the program’s rules.
The prize money is raised by 50 percent for athletes winning medals in track and field, swimming and gymnastics.
Photo: Screen grab from Yeh Jiunn-rong’s Facebook page
The boating team would this year receive the largest prize money, as the traditional boat race team won two golds and one silver, and the women’s canoe slalom team won one silver and one bronze. The team members are to receive a total of NT$122.4 million.
The softball team is to receive NT$25.5 million for winning silver and the baseball team is to receive NT$21.60 million for winning bronze.
The men’s volleyball team, which clinched a bronze medal after a 20-year drought, is to receive NT$12.6 million.
The women’s kabaddi team, which also won bronze, is to receive NT$10.8 million.
Extraordinary performances by individual athletes would also be rewarded, including those in archery, contract bridge, badminton, bowling, shooting and gymnastics.
The athletes — 142 men and 88 women — are to receive NT$358.8 million in total, while the coaches are to receive NT$18.9 million.
Meanwhile, a government official yesterday confirmed that the air force will dispatch two F-16s to escort the airplane carrying the athletes to welcome them home when it enters the nation’s air defense identification zone tonight.
The air force normally dispatches fighters when the president leaves or returns to the nation.
The government would consider whether it is safe to discharge celebratory flares at nighttime before deciding if it would allow it, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Additional reporting by Lo Tien-pin
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS