At a celebratory banquet today for Taiwanese athletes fresh off their success at the 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade, Premier Lin Chuan pledged to usher the nation into a golden age for sports by strengthening and upgrading management practices and human infrastructure in Taiwan.
Earlier in the day the Legislature greenlighted amendments to the National Sports Act, a move that the premier said will be essential for the successful reform of Taiwan's sports sector. While the amended act will create a more advanced environment for managing athletes, sports personnel and sports associations, passing it was just the beginning. The Sports Administration must take further action to protect the rights and interests of athletes, liberalize organizational structures, and promote financial transparency. Feedback from the athletes themselves should also be taken into consideration when formulating secondary laws and complementary measures.
To enable athletes to realize their full potential, the government must work with the private sector and take up the task of building and developing human and physical infrastructure, Premier Lin said. The National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung's Zuoying District, for instance, is undergoing a second phase of construction to upgrade services and facilities and provide athletes, coaches and working staff with a world-class training environment.
Athletes will also need assistance with long-term career development, including cultivating another area of expertise and planning for retirement, the premier continued. He instructed the Ministry of Education to work more closely with sports associations and athlete groups to forge a quality environment for the players.
Just as the Hongye junior baseball team from Taitung opened up a new chapter for baseball in the late 1960s, the premier expressed hope that this year's Universiade will herald a golden age for sports development in Taiwan.