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On the morning of May 5, President Tsai Ing-wen attended the Women in Sports International Photo Awards ceremony and Sports Diplomacy: Taiwan-USA Collaboration on Building the Asia-Pacific Gender Equality in Sports Exchange Platform. In remarks, President Tsai pointed out that Taiwan and the United States share many values and that we are both working hard to make gender equality a reality. The president said that Taiwan is working to advance gender equality not just in sports, but also in government, industry, and throughout our society. She added that Taiwan will continue to promote gender equality across the board and that we look forward to working with our international friends to bring more gender equality to sports.
Upon arrival, President Tsai browsed through a display of the award-winning photos and spoke with the award jury members. The president then presented the awards for the international division as well as the grand jury award, congratulating the winners for their excellent works.
A transcript of President Tsai's remarks follows:
It is encouraging to see such an impressive display of photographs featuring women athletes, a majority of them taken by women photographers. These powerful images are great means of raising visibility of two professions in which we would love to see more women participate.
I would like to commend the Taiwan Sport Forward Association (TSFA) for initiating this important project and organizing today's event. I also want to express my appreciation for the American Institute in Taiwan and the US State Department Global Sports Mentoring Program for their support. Taiwan and the US share many values, and we are both working hard to make gender equality a reality.
Sports have the power to unite people across cultural and geographical divides. Nevertheless, women participants still constitute the minority.
Just four percent of sports broadcasting is dedicated to women's sports, and only 12 percent is presented by women. Moreover, only 20 percent of sports journalists, and under 10 percent of sports photographers, are women.
But, having just seen so many great photos of women athletes at the TSFA exhibition, I am confident that this event will help bring much-needed attention to women in sports, whether in the field or behind a camera.
Taiwan is working to advance gender equality not just in sports, but in government, industry, and throughout our society.
And we have seen real progress in recent years. Today, 42 percent of our national legislators are women, and 37 percent of small- and medium-sized enterprises in Taiwan are led by women. We have also seen outstanding performances from our women athletes in international sporting events. From weightlifting to badminton, from coaching to refereeing, they have brought greater attention to women's sports, and have given Taiwan a stronger global presence.
Sports are also helping drive our engagement with countries in the region. In recent years, our National Indigenous Games, which celebrate Taiwan's traditional indigenous competitions, have played host to athletes from across the Indo-Pacific.
In addition, our Taiwan Parliamentary Women's Sports Diplomacy Committee works with the TSFA to promote both gender equality and sports diplomacy. Moving forward, Taiwan will continue to promote gender equality across the board, and we look forward to working with our international friends to bring more gender equality to sports.
Seeing the dedicated efforts of our NGOs, our athletes, our lawmakers, and events like this, I am optimistic for a more inclusive future in sports.
I want to thank you all once again for your work to further international cooperation and level the playing field.
And lastly, congratulations to the award recipients, and I wish the forum a great success.
Among those attending the event were Acting Director of the American Institute in Taiwan Taipei Office Jeremy Cornforth, Chairperson of the Jury for the Women in Sports International Photo Awards Anthony Edgar, Somaliland Representative to Taiwan Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud, and Representative of Saudi Arabian Trade Office in Taipei Adel Fahad A. Althaidi.
