With technology dominating the modern world, athletic competition has become another arena in which countries measure their technological prowess.
Athletic training, match officiating, smart sports venues…. The use of technology in sports is growing by leaps and bounds. Taiwan is a core link in the global technology supply chain. How are industry, government and academia utilizing our technological strength to help our national athletes reach the Olympic medals podium?
Taiwan has repeatedly been listed among the highest-ranking non-OIC destinations in the Global Muslim Travel Index produced by CrescentRating and Mastercard, and its numbers of halal-certified restaurants and Muslim-friendly hotels, tourist attractions, and healthcare facilities continue to increase. Eating and daily life in Taiwan are more convenient than ever for Muslims living here or visiting.
Those who have visited Tainan may remember losing their bearings in its winding back streets, which promise pleasant surprises at every turn. Why are there so many little streets and alleys in this historic town in Southern Taiwan? Su Feng-nan, an author who has explored the historical nuances of Tainan’s highways and byways, tells us, “As a city, Tainan didn’t take shape according to a preconceived plan. Rather, it developed organically.
Looking back over the past 100 years, the efforts of many scientists, including Tu Tsung-ming, Lee Chen-yuan, and Chang Chuan-chiung, put Taiwan on the global map in the field of snake venom research. Today, the strong foundations that they laid down are being built upon by their successors, who are poised to do their part to help the 2 million people worldwide who suffer snakebites each year.
For this report, we spent two days visiting the architecture featured as part of the “Tainan 400” celebrations, marking 400 years since the city’s founding. On the first day we viewed buildings from the period of the Kingdom of Tungning (1661–1683), which ruled part of Taiwan in the name of the Ming Dynasty, and from the era of Qing-Dynasty rule (1683–1895).
“Boxing and my family are my whole life.” So says Lai Chu-en, a boxer in the light welterweight (63.5 kilogram) division at the Paris Olympics.
“The older generation often says that in boxing you have to sting like a bee, stand as strong as an elephant, float like a butterfly, be as fast as a leopard, and move your waist like a serpent. Lai Chu-en can do all these things,” observes Sean Lo, a boxing coach at the National Sports Training Center.
Taiwan has streets in many cities named “Chenggong,” as well as schools at all levels with Chenggong in their names. Tainan, in particular, has multiple elementary schools, a middle school, and even a university (spelled Cheng Kung) with this word in their monikers.
In modern Chinese, chenggong is a word that means “success.”
In February of 2024, badminton player Chou Tien-chen announced that in early 2023 he had been diagnosed with early-stage colon cancer. After undergoing surgery, he began competing in numerous events and not only qualified for the Olympics, but came to understand, in the course of his training, how improved nerve conduction could bring back his “feel” for the game. Chou, called “Little Tien” by badminton fans, says: “I’m an athlete who performs best when the chips are down.
In 1624 the Dutch established a trading post in the New World, in what is now New York. In the same year, the Dutch East India Company came ashore in Taiwan in a place then called Dayuan (today part of the Anping District of Tainan City). Their 38-year rule changed the course of Taiwan’s history.
The Summer Games of the 33rd Olympiad will be held in Paris, France from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Taiwan has been allocated 60 spots for athletes competing in 16 sports as they strive for glory in the world’s most exalted sporting event. They will demonstrate the strength and beauty of competition and test their individual limits, while also raising Taiwan’s international profile.
