President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung on Thursday to visit Taiwan’s Rio-bound Olympic athletes.
This year’s Olympic team will compete in 59 events spanning 18 sports, a record for Taiwan. Tsai said that this good showing demonstrates Taiwan’s growing sporting prowess. She also said that the government has a responsibility to create a better environment for the development of sports in Taiwan.
Tsai said that the Cabinet’s establishment of a sports development committee is already a step in this direction. She cited professional baseball as an area where the committee’s work has already made a difference.
Tsai promised a greater than 10% increase in funding for sports as well as government efforts to secure a livelihood for retired athletes. She also said that the government will also encourage more corporate sponsorship for sports events.
Taiwan competes at the Olympics under the name “Chinese Taipei” to avoid the sensitive issue of its political status. Special Olympic substitutes are also used in place of the national flag and national anthem for the same reasons.