Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) First lady Wu Shu-jen called for more attention to be paid to Paralympic athletes Tuesday, saying that the tenacity demonstrated by Taiwan's athletes at the Paralympic Games in Athens is worthy of note.
Wu made the appeal in a news conference held at the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport upon her return from Athens, where she visited Sept. 12 at the head of the Taiwan delegation to the Sept. 17-28 Paralympic Games.
The wheelchair-bound first lady said that she could strongly feel the physically challenged athletes' devotion and spirit when leading them to the games. They have to work harder than athletes without disabilities, she noted.
Wu said that she is happy to have led the Taiwan delegation to Athens and to have seen the athletes perform well in judo, table tennis, shooting and other events. Their performances deserve the applause of all of Taiwan, regardless of how they fared in their respective events, she said.
Taiwan has so far won one silver medal and one bronze in the Athens Paralympics. Lin Chin-mei won silver in the 10-meter air pistol event Sunday, while Wei Hui-mei captured bronze in the women's T5 wheelchair table tennis event.
In response to Wu's complaint that the government does not offer Paralympic medalists the same rewards as Olympic medalists, President Chen Shui-bian, who was at the airport to greet her, instructed officials of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports to review related regulations based on the spirit of equality.
Chen praised the first lady, officials and athletes of the Taiwan delegation to the Paralympic Games for their efforts and contribution to the nation while increasing Taiwan's visibility in the international arena.
Despite controversy due to Beijing's pressure, Wu managed to keep her accreditation at the games, attending the opening ceremony in her capacity as head of the Taiwan delegation and using her top-level National Paralympic Committee card.