TAIPEI (TVBS News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) advocated for promoting national sports on Wednesday (Aug. 14) to unify the public and enhance Taiwan's international visibility, emphasizing that establishing a department that promotes sports is a step in the right direction and announced that the Executive Yuan (行政院) will soon reveal the establishment's details.
Lai praised Taiwan's athletes for winning two gold and five bronze medals in the Olympics this year and expressed gratitude to the athletes, coaches, support teams, and the public for their efforts and support. Looking ahead, Lai highlighted that 13 Taiwanese athletes will compete in the upcoming Summer Paralympics and that the government will provide them with resources equal to those given to Olympic athletes.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民主進步黨) Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) encouraged party officials, legislators, and council members to enthusiastically participate in the "Our Heroes! Team Taiwan" parade (英雄大遊行) on Friday (Aug. 16) to celebrate Taiwan's Olympic champions.
In addition, Sophiyah Liu (劉柏君), the founder of the Taiwan Sports Forward Association (台灣運動好事協會), addressed the international attention on boxer Lin Yu-ting's (林郁婷) bullying incident, calling for the government to help Lin achieve International Olympic Committee (IOC) certified safeguarding officer status and become an anti-bullying ambassador.
Liu also discussed the sports ambassador program, noting that Taiwan's athletes are excellent diplomats. She cited the U.S. sports ambassador program and called for government support.
