The Taipei City Government yesterday announced an exhibition of cultural artifacts to mark one year since the 2017 Taipei Universiade.
The exhibition is to run until Friday at Taipei City Hall, before relocating to the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (松山文創園區) from Aug. 24 to Aug. 26, and then becoming a permanent exhibition at Taipei Municipal Stadium (台北田徑場) starting on Aug. 31.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that the Games were a miracle for Taiwan, as Taiwanese athletes won 90 medals, including 26 gold medals.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Their performance was outstanding, because Taiwan had been an international orphan for more than two decades, but the athletes finally had a chance to compete in their homeland, Ko said.
About 87 percent of the tickets were sold during the Games and the Taiwanese athletes performed extraordinarily well because the Taiwanese public passionately cheered for them, he said.
Ko thanked the city government officials, the nearly 14,000 volunteers that helped during the Games, the governments of the five neighboring cities and counties, and the central government.
With their help, the Games cost a total of NT$15.2 billion (US$493.4 million at the current exchange rate), less than the allocated budget of NT$19.8 billion, he said.
The experience helped Taiwanese find their self-confidence and allowed the world to see Taiwan, he said, adding that people should cheer for Taiwanese athletes who this week began competing in the Asian Games in Indonesia.
When asked if the original plan was a more dynamic exhibition, Ko said: “My attitude is to keep it subtle and modest, and not a large-scale exhibition, because given Taiwan’s culture of party politics, people are likely to suspect that most activities are a form of election campaigning.”
The exhibition was set up to showcase the knowledge gained from holding an international sports event, the standard operating procedures that were formulated in the process, and even the flowcharts and documents used, which should be preserved for future reference, he said.
The public can watch live broadcast of this year’s Asian Games at the exhibition, he added.
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