People across Taiwan celebrated the nation’s first Olympic gold at Paris 2024 after Taiwan’s badminton duo emerged victorious over their Chinese opponents on Sunday.
Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) fought a tough 76-minute battle against the world No. 1 duo from China — Liang Weikeng (梁偉鏗) and Wang Chang (王昶) — to defend their men’s doubles badminton title.
Taiwan supporters had high expectations for the badminton pair, who previously won gold in the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Their hard-fought victory unleashed a wave of celebrations nationwide and congratulations from top politicians poured in.
In a telephone call to Wang’s father, President William Lai (賴清德) praised Lee and Wang for “winning glory for their country.”
“Lee and Yang obtaining gold and breaking an Olympic record really, really isn’t easy,” Lai said. “They are the glory of the nation, and I call upon everyone to thank them for going all-out for their country.”
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) congratulated the badminton champions for “again winning gold for yourselves and for Taiwan.”
“Your persistence and attitude of never giving up have moved people in the country and helped the world to see Taiwan once again,” Chu wrote on Facebook late on Sunday night.
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) also commended the winning pair on Facebook, writing: “Taiwan is proud of you.”
Aside from public praise, Lee and Wang are also to be awarded prize money from the central and local governments for their Olympic accomplishment.
According to National Glory Sports Medal and Scholarship Awards regulations, the Sports Administration will bestow NT$20 million (US$612,764) on each of them in recognition of their gold medal achievement.
Lee, whose household registration is in Kinmen County, is also to receive NT$5.5 million from the county government.
Wang, whose household is registered in Taipei, is to receive up to NT$2 million in prize money from the city government for winning an Olympic gold, as well as other rewards from funds including a training scholarship, Taipei officials said. The exact amount is yet to be confirmed.
Businesses in Taiwan are also getting caught up in Olympic fever, with many announcing special offers in recognition of Lee and Wang’s badminton victory.
Five of Taiwan’s biggest convenience store chains are offering discounts or special promotions on coffee, including a buy-two-get-two-free offer on large Americanos at 7-Eleven’s City Cafes until today.
The Taipei City Government has announced special promotions at venues across the city, including a buy-one-get-one-free deal on entrance tickets to Taipei Zoo until Aug. 12.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
RSS