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2017 Universiade - Taipei

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#1 ·
China aided Taipei’s Games bid, mayor says
Taipei Times
Fri, Dec 02, 2011

Support from China was instrumental in Taipei’s success in winning the right to host the 2017 Summer Universiade, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said yesterday and added that the city would follow the “Olympic model” in handling issues such as the nation’s title and flag.

“The friendliness and support from the mainland’s committee members was a key factor in our success, and the achievement is the result of better cross-strait relations,” he told a press conference at Taipei City Hall.

Saying President Ma Ying-jeou’s cross-strait policies had helped expand the nation’s international footprint, Hau said the city would adopt the “Olympic model” at the University Games as it was the norm in previous games, including the World Games in Kaohsiung and the Deaflympics in 2009.

The “Olympic model” refers to the 1989 agreement signed in Hong Kong that Taiwan would use the title “Chinese Taipei (Zhonghua Taibei)” within the context of the Olympics when participating at the Games.

“We will follow the model as usual in handling the title, national flag and national anthem,” he said.

Hau and a 40-member delegation returned from Belgium yesterday after beating Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, to win the right to host the event at an International University Sports Federation (FISU) meeting on Wednesday.

The 12-day Games will be the largest international event Taipei has ever hosted, after the Summer Deaflympics and the Taipei International Flora Expo last year.

According to Taiwan’s executive committee member in the federation, Chen Tai-cheng, Taipei won the bid over Brasilia by 13 votes to nine.

Taipei’s solid financial plan, professional sports facilities and full political support from the government played major roles in winning the bid, he said.

The central government is set to share the total budget of almost NT$40 billion (US$1.3 billion) with Taipei in hosting the University Games. Hau said the priority during his three-year term would be the completion of six new facilities being built for the event.

The six facilities, including the Taipei Dome, are scheduled to be completed by 2016.

Hau dismissed concerns about preparation work once he completed his second term in 2014 and said with its experience in hosting the Deaflympics and the Taipei International Flora Expo, the city government would host a successful University Games in 2017 regardless of who is in his office.
 
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#4 ·
Mon, Jul 23, 2012
Universiade a great chance for Taiwan image boost: forum
Taipei Times

As the host city for the 2017 Universiade, Taipei should seize the opportunity to enhance its international visibility and reputation, experts said at a forum held by Fubon Art Foundation in Taipei.

“The thing that Taiwan needs most right now is a platform to make friends with the rest of the world. International conventions, exhibitions and sports events are important ways to promote Taiwan,” Alliance Culture Foundation chairman Stanley Yen (嚴長壽), who is also popularly known as “the Godfather of the Hotel Industry,” told the forum on Saturday.

Taiwan’s bureaucracy has gradually lost its ability to communicate with international community since the nation lost its UN seat in 1971, Yen added with decades-long isolation from the international community prompting the nation to look inward rather than outward.

“We have become localized,” the travel-industry veteran said. “And yet we have a rich culture and enjoy great freedom. We should understand our strength and show it to the world.”

Organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), the Universiade is a biennial international sporting competition for university students and the second-largest sports event after the Olympics in terms of member nations and number of participating athletes, according to Taiwan’s federation executive committee member, Chen Tai-cheng (陳太正).

More than 12,000 athletes are expected to participate in the 2017 Summer Universiade, Chen added, compared to about 6,000 at the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung and 3,000 at the Deaflympics in Taipei in 2009.

Chen said, in the final evaluation by FISU’s executive committee, Taipei was able to beat the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, because it won votes in three main categories: political aspects, finances and sporting facilities.

“Taipei won [the political aspects category] by a mere four votes,” the committee member added. “China, Hong Kong and Mongolia voted for us.”

On the issue of sporting facilities, Chen said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) last week made it clear that the rule of thumb for the project is “to use existing facilities as much as possible.”

There will be no need to spend NT$2 billion (US$66.7 million) on building a swimming pool for the Universiade, which the Taipei City Government originally planned to do, Chen said, since representatives from FISU have agreed there is an existing pool in the city that meets international games standards.

Regarding the city government’s plan to turn a park in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Linkou District (林口) into the athletes’ village for the Universiade, Chen stressed that there would be a “sustainable” re-use of the village which is designed to serve as welfare housing units for locals after the sporting event is over.

“It is like building a new town for the locals,” the committee member said.

However, residents in Linkou reportedly think otherwise. In May, an alliance composed of community colleges, social organizations and local residents launched a petition against the plan, saying it would damage the surrounding natural environment.
 
#5 ·
Wed, Jul 25, 2012
Anger over Taipei City’s costly London Games trip
BUREAUCRATIC HURDLES : Officials involved in the planning of the Taipei 2017 Universiade event are facing criticism over their NT$2.48 million fact-finding mission
Taipei Times

The Taipei City Government yesterday defended a delegation’s planned visit to the London Olympic Games amid concerns about the NT$2.48 million (US$82,000) inspection trip, insisting that the city aimed to learn from the experience of the English capital before hosting the Summer Universiade in 2017.

The delegation, led by Taipei Deputy Mayor Timothy Ting (丁庭宇), will embark on a 21-day trip to the Olympic Games in London this week to inspect the 16 events that the 2017 Summer Universiade will also host. The delegation will also inspect facilities and overall management of the Games, including transportation, public security and the Athletes Village.

The inspection trip has sparked a dispute, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) questioning the effectiveness of the visit, saying that delegation is not attending the opening and closing ceremonies of the event.

“The delegation did not get tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies. They spend so much money on the trip and will watch the ceremonies in a hotel. What’s the point of wasting taxpayers’ money and traveling to London only to watch the Games on TV?” he asked.

Taipei Sports Office director Chen Liang-hui (陳良輝) said yesterday that the delegation did not purchase tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies due to budget issues as the ceremonies cost NT$50,000 per ticket.

Inspection of the competition events at the Olympics Games would be the priority and the delegation would visit the Athletes Village and other facilities during the visit and attend a forum on hosting sports events to learn more about hosting the Universiade in 2017, Chen said.

Ting said part of the expense would be paid by using the deputy mayor’s special allowance and said the city’s delegation opted not to join the Chinese Taipei Olympic team because the purpose of the trip is to inspect facilities and the hosting of the Games.

The city has listed a current budget of more than NT$40 billion (US$ 1.3 billion) to host the Summer Universiade in 2017, an international sporting event for university students, with the central government responsible for shouldering NT$340 million of the expense.
 
#6 ·
Sun, Jun 24, 2012
Taipei Times
Critic blasts Taipei’s NT$2bn pool plan
MONEY PIT:A city councilor questioned the need to build the pool for the Universiade when a temporary pool would cost only NT$50m, in keeping with international trends

A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilor yesterday lashed out at the city government for budgeting NT$2 billion (US$66.7 million) to build a swimming pool for the Summer Universiade in 2017, urging the city to instead build temporary pools for the sports event.

Taipei will budget a total of NT$42.5 billion to host the Universiade, an international sports event for university students.

Because the swimming pool the city government built for the Taipei International Deaflympics in 2009 failed to meet the standards for international games, the city will budget NT$2 billion to build a new pool for the Universiade.

DPP Taipei City Councilor Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) questioned the necessity of investing so much money in a new swimming pool and said many international swimming competitions, including the World Swimming Championships held in Brazil in 1995 and in Shanghai last year, used temporary pools, which cost much less.

“The cost of a temporary pool is only about NT$50 million, and many countries are building such pools at existing stadiums for international games to save time and money. The city government’s plan of allocating a huge budget to a fancy swimming pool goes against international trends,” Kao said at a press conference.

The city government spent NT$80 million to build a swimming pool for the Deaflympics in 2009, but was unable to use the pool for other competitions because the facilities did not meet most international standards.

The city had planned to use a NT$1.2 billion swimming pool at Taipei Physical Education College for the competition, but decided to build a new one in Dazhi District (大直) after it also failed to meet international standards.

Besides a new swimming pool, the city will also build a new basketball court, a tennis court and a volleyball court, with a cost of NT$10 billion.

“The city still lacks international-standard sports facilities after spending a lot of money on the Deaflympics, and now wants to waste taxpayers’ money and build more facilities. The city government should try to use existing facilities for the sports event, rather than building new and fancy sports centers that could be deserted afterward,” she said.

Taipei Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Tseng Tsan-chin (曾燦金) said 93 percent of the sports facilities used in the Universiade will be in existing locations.

As to the swimming pool, the new pool will be used for other competitions in the future, he said.

“There is no swimming facility in Taipei that meets the requirements for international competitions, and we will take this opportunity to build one that can be used for both professional competitions at international games and for recreational purposes by residents in the future,” he said.

The Universiade will be the largest international event hosted by Taipei since the Summer Deaf-lympics in 2009 and the Taipei International Flora Expo in 2010.
 
#7 ·
Fri, Sep 07, 2012
DPP queries use of Taipei Dome
SIDE-LINED:According to DPP city councilors, the dome was designed to be a multifunctional venue and should be used for both ceremonies and sports
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter


Work continues yesterday at the Taipei Dome construction site in downtown Taipei. The dome will be used for the opening ceremony of the 2017 Summer Universiade, but is not listed as a competition site for the Games.
Photo: Liu Jung, Taipei Times


Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday accused the Taipei City Government of having no intention to use the Taipei Dome for competitions during the 2017 Summer Universiade, questioning the purpose of the Taipei Dome construction project, which was designed as a indoor baseball stadium to promote baseball and other sports.

The Taipei Dome project, a 500,000m2 commercial complex in downtown Xinyi District (信義) that would include a 40,000-seat indoor stadium, was expected to be a major venue for the Summer Universiade in 2017.

However, the dome was not included on the competition venue list, and Taipei City’s Department of Sports plans to use the dome for opening and closing ceremonies instead.

DPP Taipei City Councilor Lee Ching-feng (李慶鋒) and Taiwan Solidarity Union Taipei City Councilor Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) yesterday questioned the city government’s plan, urging the department to use the dome for sports events.

“Taipei Dome is built to become one of the nation’s biggest baseball stadiums, and it is ridiculous that it will not be the venue for baseball competitions in the Summer Universiade. What would Taipei Dome be used for if it cannot serve as a venue for international baseball games?” Lee said at a press conference at the Taipei City Council.

Citing the example of the recent Olympics Games and previous Summer Universiades, Chen said venues for opening and closing ceremonies in international sports events have also been used to hold competitions, while questioning the preparation of the international sports event.

“The Fukuoka Dome was used to hold baseball competitions during the Universiade in 1995 in addition to the opening and closing ceremonies. The city government’s promise in building the Taipei Dome as a professional stadium would not be very persuasive if it cannot be used as a multifunctional venue,” he said.

The Taipei Dome project began construction last year after long-term protests against the project amid concerns on its environmental impact.

Farglory Group, the developer, signed a contract with the city government in 2005 and planned to invest more than NT$23 billion (US$700 million) in the complex at the abandoned Songshan Tobacco Factory on Zhongxiao E Road, and promised to build a professional indoor baseball stadium with at least 40,000 seats.

Deputy commissioner of the department Ding Ruo-ting (丁若亭) said the department has not yet made a decision on the venue for baseball competitions and opening and closing ceremonies, and the preparatory committee will make a final decision after discussing the issues with the International University Sports Federation.

“The Taipei Dome could definitely be used to hold baseball competitions, and we did not finalize the arrangements on venues for competitions yet,” he said.
 
#8 ·
Sadly, it seems the government of Taipei decided that the dome won't be used anymore at least for the ceremonies of the 2017 Universiade due to this whole drama concerning the safety issues which has been happening on the last months (because apparently the mall being built alongside the stadium would cause issues for emergency evacuations). The ceremonies have been moved to the Taipei Municipal Stadium (which held the ceremonies of the 2009 Deaflympics back then)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kkL-l9GuIA

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2015/06/23/2003621352

This is the second time they move the ceremonies from a bigger to a smaller venue (Shenzhen did the same in 2011, moving the opening ceremonies to a 20.000 stadia)
 
#9 ·
Jul 18, 2017
Tickets for Universiade opener sold out: official
AMBITIOUS GOAL : The nation’s team would have 368 athletes, its biggest Universiade team yet, and they aim to win at least seven golds, the Sports Administration said
Taipei Times with CNA Excerpt

All 12,000 tickets for the Aug. 19 Summer Universiade opening ceremony were sold out by Friday, said Lee Chang-hui (李昌輝), an official responsible for the event’s promotion.

In comparison, only 17 percent of tickets have been sold for the Aug. 30 closing ceremony, but the Taipei City Government expects ticket sales to increase after it launches a promotional campaign in the second half of this month, he said.

The opening ceremony will be held at the Taipei Stadium, with performances by Taiwanese dancer PeiJu Chien-Pott (簡珮如), who was formerly with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Cirque du Soleil dancer Billy Chang (張逸軍) and singer Wang Lee-hom (王力宏).

The closing ceremony at the stadium is to be a rock ’n’ roll concert, with performances by LaLa Hsu, also known as Hsu Chia-ying (徐佳瑩), and Aboriginal singer Jia Jia (家家).

Ticket prices for the closing ceremony range from NT$500 to NT$2,000, while ticket prices for individual events range from NT$200 to NT$300.

People can also buy package tickets to attend multiple competitions in the same sport on different days for NT$500 to NT$1,600.

The Taipei City Police Department, which is in charge of security for the Universiade, has said it would deploy about 5,000 police at the Athletes’ Village and sports venues.
 
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