President Lai Ching-te presented the team flag to athletes heading to the 2025 Summer World University Games July 11, wishing them success in the competition to win honor for Taiwan.
Lai first praised outstanding performances by Taiwan athletes in recent international sports events. The government has set up support stations, including apartments with catering, physiotherapy clinics and sports centers, to support athletes for the games. He expressed appreciation for their work to coaches, logistic staff and agencies including the Ministry of Education Sports Administration, Kaohsiung City-based National Sports Training Center and Taiwan Institute of Sports Science.
The Ministry of Sport will be launched Sept. 9, which is National Sports Day, and the Sports for All Agency and a national sports industry development center will be established subsequently. The ministry is key to sports for all advocacy and transformation policies, encouraging public participation in sports and raising the country’s profile in the international sports community, Lai said.
Lai added that the amendment for the Sports Industry Development Act was passed by the Legislative Yuan July 8, enabling the government to use the National Development Fund for the sports industry while also encouraging private enterprises to sponsor sports events. The government is committed to further development of professional sports including transformation of amateur sports, he added.
The 2025 Summer World University Games is set to kick off July 16 in Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region. A total of 196 Taiwan athletes will compete in 15 sports including archery, badminton, basketball, fencing, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, track and field and volleyball, according to the MOE. (YCH-E)
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