This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which typically draws top international athletes, has been canceled ahead of its June schedule, as funding for the Ministry of Sports has not yet cleared the legislature, the organizing body said on Wednesday.
All registration fees would be fully reimbursed, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA) said in a statement, apologizing for any inconvenience.
Funding for the athletics competition was allocated by the Ministry of Sports as part of its wider budget for fiscal year 2026, which remains stalled in the legislature, CTAA secretary-general Wang Ching-cheng (王景成) said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Asked about the cancelation of the Taiwan Athletics Open, Minister of Sports Lee Yang (李洋) yesterday said that his ministry would use its sports fund, which supports athlete development and international competitions, to provide continued assistance to the association.
The central government’s budget of NT$3.035 trillion (US$95.6 billion) for this fiscal year has been stuck in the opposition-controlled legislature since January, with only a small fraction approved for funding in areas such as public transportation, road infrastructure and maternity subsidies.
The Taiwan Athletics Open, an annual event inaugurated in 1973, typically provides a rare opportunity for local athletes to compete against international talent on home turf.
This year’s edition was scheduled for June 6 and 7 in New Taipei City.
In 2024, the meet was classified by World Athletics as a Continental Tour Bronze-level event, allowing athletes to earn world ranking points and attracting overseas competitors, including Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse, the men’s 200m Tokyo Olympics gold medalist.
Having been upgraded to Continental Tour Silver, this year’s edition of the meet would have offered more ranking points.
As of press time last night, Wang had not responded to a request for further information.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Sports Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) yesterday announced his resignation, saying he plans to return to teaching at National Taiwan Sport University.
He said the move was not motivated by any factor in particular, but rather he felt that he had completed his duties and wished to continue developing Taiwan’s sports education system.
The ministry’s operations are all on track, making it an opportune time to step away from the position, he said.
Cheng’s term was due to end in February next year, meaning he stepped down 10 months earlier than planned.
Cheng became Sports Administration director-general in 2023, and was appointed as political deputy sports minister when the ministry was established in September last year.
Lee said at the Legislative Yuan that the move would not affect operations and he would ensure that projects continue as planned.
Additional reporting by Lin Yue-fu, Chung Li-hua and Hollie Younger
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS