Taiwan Today

A sports for all policy brings both general well-being and new champions.
 

Spring and summer 2025 are shaping up to be an eventful period in Taiwan’s sports world. Late May will see the World Masters Games hosted in Taiwan, primarily in the neighboring cities of Taipei and New Taipei. The international competition, first held in 1985, makes its Asian debut with the 2025 summer games. This year’s slogan, focusing on living life to the ­fullest and engaging with sports at any age, dovetails with the upcoming launch of the Ministry of Sports (MOS) later this year.
 

“The World Masters Games are a great opportunity to expand access to sports through community-based ­activities,” said Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠), director-general of the Ministry of Education’s Sports Administration (SA). Following the administration’s anticipated upgrade to a ministry in August 2025, Cheng expects more concerted progress toward realizing physical recreation and competitive ambitions, including the ­promotion of sports for all. He has been a key figure in the planning of the new agency, which will see Taiwan join a handful of countries, including Australia and Brazil, in having a Cabinet-level body focused on sports. “The government’s taking sports development and its potential to raise the country’s profile on the world stage very seriously,” Cheng said. The MOS will ­encompass over 300 staff members and will administer training, conduct research and facilitate industry ­development centers, as well as upgrading programs such as the SA’s existing Sports for All Division, which will continue to expand accessibility as an administration under the MOS.
 

According to the director-general, the proportion of people in Taiwan exercising regularly—defined as spending 30 minutes or more on physical activity at least three times a week—is about 33 percent. “We can greatly improve these numbers,” he said. Cheng described upcoming measures to spark public interest in healthy activity, including the creation of more dedicated athletic spaces in urban parks, professionally led community classes and regular small-scale games at public venues.

Moving Companies

Other impactful programs begun under the SA are expected to continue, such as an annual celebration of enterprises that motivate employees to keep active. Since 2016 a total of 842 enterprises have been recognized for sports policies benefiting more than 1.2 million workers. Taipei-headquartered Yuen Foong Yu Consumer Products Co., which marked its 100th anniversary last year, is one such honoree. The tissue producer’s factory in central Taiwan won in 2019 and inspired its other operations around the country to follow suit. “Incentivizing healthy, active lifestyles is an integral part of our policy, especially given the average age of the workforce in the traditional manufacturing sector,” said Chuang Wen-chih (莊文志), human resources director for Yuen Foong Yu.
 

The enterprise not only offers financial support to sports clubs formed by its workers but also subsidizes registration fees for externally organized activities such as marathons and cycling competitions. Chuang’s department invites experts to lecture on topics including maintaining an interest in sports among older people and methods to avoid sport injuries. “Our sports policy has many benefits: Employees are healthier, camaraderie is higher, we cultivate a positive corporate image and we help the government cut down on medical costs,” he added.
 

Education is another key component of the push for sports for all. According to Chiu Wei-rung (邱為榮), a track and field coach who is an SA consultant, physical education (P.E.) can stimulate student athletic engagement and help establish healthy, lifelong commitments to physical activity. “P.E. teachers can make activities more compelling by elaborating on the science that underpins them, such as providing techniques to understand movement,” he said, adding that this deeper knowledge pulls students in and can lead those with the aptitude to discover a career in the sports industry.

Sports Streaming

To strengthen the foundation of Tai­wan’s growing sports success, the SA implemented a program in 2016 that cultivates the next generation of athletes with championship or medal potential. Budding athletes aged 13 to 18 are typically chosen based on performance at the annual National High School Games. The young athletes then receive intensive training with logistical support during summer and winter vacations at domestic and international facilities. More than 2,000 talented teens are currently enrolled in the program.
 

The training environment for top ­athletes is also receiving concerted focus. The National Sports Training Center, which was established in 1976 in the southern city of Kaohsiung, serves ­athletes on national teams as they ­prepare for events like the Asian Games and the Olympics. Facility and ­equipment ­upgrades began in 2013, and new ­buildings offering spaces for training, accommodation and dining have since opened for use. A covered running track and a covered field events training venue were completed in 2020 and 2024, respectively, allowing athletes to practice rain or shine. Construction continues apace, with an indoor swimming pool and a tennis court slated for completion in 2027.
 

In 2023 the Taiwan Institute of Sports Science (TISS) was set up in Kaohsiung to further Taiwan’s ambitions to compete at the highest levels. The organization works with experts from institutes of higher learning to conduct research in diverse areas, such as the optimization of training plans and performance analysis comparing Taiwan athletes with major competitors. TISS is also responsible for designing treatment and recovery plans for injured athletes, as well as developing training equipment and devices to meet the needs of individual athletes or teams.

Stepping Ahead

TISS anticipates close cooperation with the forthcoming National Sports Industry Development Center (NSIDC), which will be established under the MOS to transform research results into real products for all who engage in physical activity at any level. NSIDC’s role in the process is to match businesses with ­entities ­offering the necessary funding to make commercially viable end products through ­technology transfers from TISS. “Many items used by professionals, like wearable devices for detecting vital signs, can also be used by amateurs,” said Cheng from the SA. “The market potential is huge.”

Another goal for the NSIDC is the cultivation of commercial sports ­marketing and promotion bodies, ­leading to expansion of the sector as a whole. According to Jimmy Chang (張憲銘), chair of Flight International Group, the popularity of events and activities is growing. Professional teams cultivate loyal ­followers who are willing to spend on team apparel and merchandise, adding to income generated from ticket sales. Participatory events, such as road and trail races, are also increasingly ­common, he noted, with activities taking place almost every week. “Educational events such as baseball camps are also ­seeing rapid growth,” Chang said. “More and more parents are helping their ­children balance academics with sports participation.”
 

Through cross-sector cooperation, including promotional events and coordinated sponsorships, sports industry development is set to grow by leaps and bounds. The SA’s Cheng has confidence in continued growth, noting that the key to this trend is to get people moving to establish healthier lifestyles. “The more people engage in regular physical activity, the stronger the demand for sporting goods and events,” he said. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s performance at major international events, especially the two most recent editions of the Summer Olympics, have raised the profile of sports, in turn ­benefiting the industry. “The goals of government sports policy are interconnected, from promoting grassroots participation to improving global competitiveness and strengthening the industry,” Cheng said. “The establishment of the MOS will make them easier to achieve.” 

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw