Olympic badminton champion Lee Yang (李洋) has reportedly been tapped to lead the new ministry of sport, although neither the Cabinet nor Lee have confirmed the rumors.
TVBS yesterday reported that Lee, who won gold medals in the men’s doubles badminton at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and last year’s Paris Olympics with partner Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟), has been chosen to become the nation’s first sports minister.
The sports ministry is to be inaugurated on Sept. 9.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Sports Administration Director Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) would serve as Lee’s deputy, the report said.
A formal announcement is expected after tomorrow, it added.
If appointed, 30-year-old Lee would be the youngest minister in Taiwan’s history.
Lee retired after winning gold last year, and joined National Taiwan Sport University as an associate professor and athletics coach. He also coached players at this year’s national badminton ranking tournament.
Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that any changes to the Cabinet would be announced “at an appropriate time.”
Lee said he had “not received any news yet” about the alleged appointment, while Cheng said he had not heard anything from the government and would await news from the Executive Yuan.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) did not name a nominee for sports minister, but said that the ministry’s budget has been approved for next year at NT$24.8 billion (US$812.98 million) — a record for sports in Taiwan.
Cho said he hoped Taiwan would host international competitions under its own brand to attract athletes from abroad and stimulate tourism.
The new ministry would promote “sports for all” and encourage athletes to pass on their experience to bolster the nation’s sports industry, he said.
The biggest concern with selecting Lee as minister would be his relative lack of administrative experience, although all the candidates for deputy minister have spent years working under the Sports Administration.
If Lee does become sports minister, he would oversee four elections across major sports associations and Team Taiwan’s participation in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
Lee would also be involved in communicating with leadership at national sports associations.
In other news, President William Lai (賴清德) during a reception yesterday welcoming home Taiwan’s delegation to the World Games in Chengdu, China, praised Team Taiwan for winning five gold, six silver and four bronze medals — the nation’s best performance at a World Games outside Taiwan.
“With the inauguration of the ministry of sport on National Sports Day, we hope to elevate sports’ organizational level, bring in new structures and policies, inject more resources, incorporate interdisciplinary expertise and create a better environment,” Lai said.
The sports ministry would oversee the National Sports Training Center, the Taiwan Institute of Sports Science and the National Sports Industry Development Center, Lai said.
Additional reporting by Lin Yue-fu and Kayleigh Madjar
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
RSS