On December 18, President Chen Shui-bian met with officials and medal winners from Taiwan's team that participated in the 15th Asian Games in Doha. In addition to congratulating the winners on their outstanding performance, President Chen also praised the team's coaches and other officials for their efforts.
President Chen said the Taiwan team to the Doha Games netted 9 gold medals, 10 silver medals and 27 bronze medals, which is an increasingly competitive performance against other Asian nations. He also expressed that he was proud of the team's display. While the overall medal count for the Taiwan team did not meet expectations, President Chen said all athletes and coaches performed to the best of their ability. He urged the people of Taiwan to continue to support Taiwan's teams that take part in international competitions.
President Chen also said that the government places emphasis on and supports athletics development. In addition to already winning the right to hold the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, he said the government is aggressively working to obtain the right to host the 2011 World University Games. President Chen said the Executive Yuan has approved the "Challenge 2008 Gold Plan" that was drafted by National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in a continued effort to help set the foundation for Taiwan athletes to put in outstanding performances in international competitions. He said that these efforts will have a substantive impact on inspiring even further improvement in the performance of Taiwan's athletes.
President Chen also noted that now is just the beginning for even greater and tougher challenges for Taiwan's athletics circle, including the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. President Chen said he hopes all staff of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and members of the athletic community will work hand in hand as partners to continue to move forward. This will help create even better results for Taiwan and enable the world to see the top-notch performances of Taiwan's athletes.