President Tsai Ing-wen said April 13 that the government fully supports Taiwan’s athletes and will prioritize their safety while they represent the country at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics set to be held July 23 to August 8.
The past year has been very hard on athletes as they continued training in the face of repeated cancellations and postponements of international competitions due to the impact of COVID-19, the president said.
When athletes have been able to take part in sporting events abroad, strict precautionary measures during competition and extended periods of quarantine have posed further challenges, she added.
The president made the remarks while visiting members of Taiwan’s national team under training for the summer games at the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan.
Tsai took the occasion to congratulate Taiwan’s badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying, recent winner at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals in Thailand, and wish luck on the country’s weightlifting star Kuo Hsing-chun and her teammates who will soon take part in the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan to seek qualification for the Olympics.
These sporting talents have greatly inspired the people of Taiwan with their unyielding perseverance and outstanding performance, Tsai said, adding that their dedication and fighting spirit are sincerely appreciated by all members of society.
According to the Ministry of Education, a total of 31 Taiwan athletes have qualified to participate in archery, boxing, cycling, equestrian, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, table tennis and track and field at this year’s games. More are expected in other fields such as badminton, judo, taekwondo and weightlifting. (SFC-E)
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