Taiwan Athletics Open Canceled; Li Yang: Guide Use of Fund Budget

The Taiwan Athletics Open, originally scheduled to take place on June 6th and 7th this year at Banqiao Stadium, had been upgraded by World Athletics to a 'Continental Tour Silver Label' event. In Asia, only Taiwan, China, Israel, and India have received this 'Silver Label' certification.

Unexpectedly, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association suddenly issued a statement yesterday, announcing that the Sports Department had allocated a budget for 'Taiwan Brand Events 2.0' this year, encouraging local governments and single-sport associations to upgrade their international competitions. The Athletics Association had planned to upgrade the annual Taiwan Athletics Open to a World Athletics Silver Label event. "However, due to the Legislative Yuan's general budget continuously failing to pass this year, this year's event has been forced to be canceled."

Li Yang mentioned in an interview today, "Since the establishment of our Sports Department last year, we have been actively guiding various associations about this plan for this year. I only learned about the Athletics Association's decision yesterday. We will actively guide them to continue using the fund budget portion."

Li Yang emphasized, "Of course, I still hope that the Athletics Association can hold this competition. This competition is also an international event held in Taiwan that awards points, and I hope it will not affect the rights and interests of the athletes." (Edited by Li Hsi-chang) 1150409