President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of January 12 with bodybuilders from the ROC who won medals at the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games as well as representatives from the Chinese Taipei Bodybuilding Federation (CTBBF). The president congratulated Hsu Chung-huang and Hsu Chia-hao, who respectively took gold and bronze medals at the Kaohsiung World Games and won distinction for Taiwan.
The president recognized the efforts made by the CTBBF in helping to prepare ROC bodybuilders for competition. He stated that federation President Johnson Lin last year led a team from Taiwan to the IFBB Men's World Championships 2010 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Taiwan's team ended up placing 15th among the 63 competing nations and 186 bodybuilders. More importantly, however, International Federation of Body Building and Fitness (IFBB )President Rafael Santonja specially praised the competitors from Taiwan for not using banned substances and cooperating with any examination for banned drugs. Mr. Santonja furthermore expressed his hopes that other nations would look upon Taiwan as a model. President Ma noted that receiving praise of this sort was quite an achievement.
The president added that athletes need intelligence, coordination, and judgment to excel. Bodybuilding is no different, he said, as it requires a balanced diet and coordination to achieve both power and beauty. President Ma pointed to remarks by Dr. John J. Ratey, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, in one of his books—Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Dr. Ratey writes that exercise has been proven to boost physical health, disposition, mental capacity, and intelligence. Athletes are therefore not simpletons as they are often stereotyped.
The president encouraged the public to engage in more physical activity as a strong body is the basis of national strength. He added that Taipei City has already achieved the goal of establishing sports centers in each one of its 12 districts. These facilities attract a total of one million visits each month, he explained, adding that the Sports Affairs Council has announced plans to create 50 public sports centers throughout the nation. To date, approval has been granted for 19 such facilities, which will provide even more places for the public to exercise. The president said he hopes a physically fit public will provide a hotbed for the emergence of good athletes, and lastly expressed his hope that athletes will enjoy continued success and will keep working hard to create a strong future for themselves.
The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Sports Affairs Council Minister Tai Hsia-Ling and CTBBF Johnson Lin to meet President Ma.