President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) praised female athletes representing Taiwan for their hard work at the Hangzhou Asian Games in a Facebook post on Wednesday. The president also congratulated all Taiwan’s athletes, playing under the name Chinese Taipei, who secured a total of 19 gold, 20 silver, and 28 bronze medals at the games.
President Tsai specifically called out a number of female medal winners during her speech. Female karate fighter Gu Shiau-shuang (谷筱霜) made a comeback in the final five seconds of her match to win Taiwan’s 19th and final gold medal for this year. Another female karate competitor Ku Tsui-ping (辜翠萍) suffered an injury to her left leg but also made a remarkable return to win a silver medal. Despite a spinal injury, speed skater Yang Ho-chen (楊合貞) pulled through to win a silver medal in the women’s 10,000 meter race. While Liu Yi-hsuan (劉懿萱) and Li Meng-chu (李孟竹) both won gold in the 3,000 meter speed skating.
The president also complimented Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) for winning Taiwan’s first gold in women’s boxing. Competing with an injury, Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳) won a bronze medal in weightlifting. Tsai also praised Chen Nien-chin (陳念琴), who overcame cancer prior to the games to once again stand on the international stage to earn a bronze medal in boxing.
President Tsai thanked the Taiwanese women for their determination, leaving a strong impression during their competition, and demonstrating their perseverance. She emphasized that in Taiwan, regardless of one’s gender or ethnicity, women have the opportunity to become boxing champions, fighter pilots, or even the commander in chief.