President Lai hosts Olympians, seeks advice on planned sports ministry

Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Friday asked for suggestions from Taiwan's athletes and coaches for a planned sports ministry while hosting a party at the Presidential Office for those who competed in the recently concluded Paris Olympics.

Lai said he looked forward to input from all the Olympians, their coaches and the sports community for the planned sports ministry, so that it can better serve the needs of Taiwanese athletes.

He was referring to the proposed upgrade of the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education into a ministry-level agency.

The Executive Yuan on Thursday set up a task force charged with drafting the necessary legal framework and making preliminary preparations for the upgraded agency.

Lai said that as a ministry, the agency would do more to focus on popularizing different types of sports, and he pledged to make government resources available to help young Taiwanese pursue their sports dreams and build Taiwan into a sports powerhouse.

At the party held exclusively for the athletes who competed in Paris, their coaches and support teams, and referees who worked at the Olympics, Lai praised the athletes for their efforts, saying they "made the world see Taiwan" and "united the people of Taiwan."

A total of 60 Taiwanese athletes competed in 16 events at the Paris Olympics, bringing home two gold medals and five bronzes.

Among those attending the party were female boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷), and half of the gold medal-winning men's doubles badminton team, Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟).

Also in attendance were four of the five bronze-medal winners: female boxers Wu Shih-yi (吳詩儀) and Chen Nien-chin (陳念琴), male gymnast Tang Chia-hung (唐嘉鴻), and male sharpshooter Lee Meng-yuan (李孟遠).