Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

The Chinese Taipei team representing Taiwan in the 10th FIBA U19 World Championship for Men left Taiwan for the Republic of Latvia on the evening of June 26 to participate in the event. In the morning, President Ma Ying-jeou made a special visit to Taipei Municipal Song-Shan Senior High School to watch the team in practice. The president urged the team on and expressed his best wishes for an outstanding performance in the upcoming tournament.

President Ma said he was quite moved to see the spirit exhibited by the team members in practice, and praised the team's coach for his dedication and strict requirements, which have forged a well-trained and highly disciplined team. Last year, the Chinese Taipei team won third place at the 21st FIBA Asia U18 Championship in Yemen, which earned the team a ticket to the FIBA U19 World Championship. The president pointed out that this marks Taiwan's first appearance at the championship after an absence of 24 years.

The president remarked that the European Union recently granted visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals, while Taiwan's humanitarian assistance and its efforts to be a peacemaker and promoter of cultural exchanges have gained Taiwan attention in the international community and created a more positive attitude toward us. President Ma said that we will have even more opportunities to compete overseas in the future. So far this year, six teams from Taiwan comprised of youth between the ages of 16 and 20 have attended overseas competitions, which also shows the increasing popularity of basketball in Taiwan.

President Ma expressed his hope that the government will take advantage of the achievements of Taiwan's basketball players to further promote the sport here. He also encouraged the team members to give their all at the upcoming tournament, and pledged that the government will continue to support the development of the sport.