Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin and Sports Affairs Minister Tai Hsia-ling accompanied a 70-member delegation comprising athletes and staff from the Chinese Taipei national team to meet with President Ma Ying-jeou at the Presidential Office on September 16. The president congratulated the members of the team for their outstanding performances during the 2009 Summer Deaflympics in Taipei.

The Chinese Taipei national team won 11 gold, 11 silver, and 11 bronze medals during this year’s Deaflympics. This accomplishment sets a new record in the team’s history.

At the beginning of the meeting, President Ma welcomed the players in sign language. He praised the athletes for winning the medals for the country.

Ma quoted Donalda Ammons – the president of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) – as saying that the Deaflympics in Taipei was the best in Deaflympics history. He said the encouragement from the president of ICSD shows that the successful games in Taipei have become the pride of Taiwan.

To train more athletes to compete in international events and to encourage physically challenged individuals to participate in sports, the President instructed the Sports Affairs Council to look into the possibility of raising the cash incentives for athletes winning medals.

Chang Yao-chien, a Taiwanese athlete who won four gold medals at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics, thanked the President for winning the bid to host the Games in Taipei during his term as Taipei’s mayor, hoping that Ma will continue to improve the environment for Taiwanese athletes.