Sports ministry to be inaugurated in September: Cabinet

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) The Ministry of Sports is expected to be officially inaugurated with a plaque unveiling ceremony on National Sports Day on Sept. 9, the Executive Yuan announced Thursday.

Citing Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news conference that the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education has been instructed to begin preparations for establishing the Ministry of Sports according to the planned timeline.

According to Lee, Cho said the future ministry will focus on organizational restructuring, a renewed vision and new initiatives.

The ministry's orange-yellow logo was also unveiled at the event, inspired by "Team Taiwan," the national baseball team, during last year's WBSC Premier12 tournament.

The logo symbolizes a celebratory gesture made by Team Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) after he smashed a three-run homer against defending champion Japan during the Premier12 final at the Tokyo Dome.

Chen later explained that placing both hands in front of his chest was meant to signal that the players were from Taiwan.

Liu Keng-ming (劉耕名), who designed the logo, said in a prerecorded video that a good logo should be simple, easily recognized by the media and resonate with the public.

Sports Administration Director-General Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) said the new ministry will adopt the vision of "strengthening Taiwan through sports.

Its organizational structure will include three subordinate centers: the existing National Sports Training Center, the Taiwan Institute of Sports Science and a new national sports industry development center, which is still being planned.

Lee quoted Cho as saying future efforts will focus on promoting physical activity among people with disabilities.

Cheng explained this includes working with hospitals to integrate sports into rehabilitation and giving patients better access to sports facilities.