Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je says he hopes to use the 2017 Universiade to “let the world see a better Taiwan”.
Taipei has been selected to host the athletics event next year, which will bring athletes from universities around the world to the city. With the games scheduled to open on August 19, there is now less than a year left to prepare.
During an interview on Saturday, Ko said that his term as mayor began less than three years before day one of the games. He said that this has left little time for large-scale construction, meaning that many competitions will be held in existing venues that have been refurbished.
But Ko said that the work of preparing for the games goes beyond the competition venues. He said that the city government is working to make the city more international and turn it into a better place to live. Ko said that projects to improve the city in the run-up to the games include work on roads, streetlights, parks, and signage.
Ko said that sport can bring people of different political, ethnic, and religious backgrounds together. He said he also hopes to use the games as a way of healing what he called Taiwan’s fractured society.