The 36th Executive Board meeting of the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) was held for the first time in Chinese Taipei on the 23rd and 24th October. The invitation for the meeting was extended after the President of NPC Chinese Taipei, Dr Mu Ming-Chu, was elected Chairperson of the APC’s Women and Sport Committee last December.
The opening session of the meeting was attended by theDirector of Sports from the Ministry of Education Mr. Zheng Shizhong, as well as senior representatives from NPC Chinese Taipei.
Schizhong welcomed the delegates to Taipei City and outlined some of the efforts that his government are planning to support sport for people with impairments.
“The government has always been committed to equal rights in sports and we hope that people with impairments will be able to participate in sports together,” he commented.
APC President Majid Rashed said in his opening remarks. “ We have been made to feel very welcome here and it is good to hear about your plans to further support athletes with disabilities. We were all proud of the performances of your athletes at the Paris Paralympic Games – winning five medals was a great achievement. We know that there is a lot of energy here to deliver for para-athletes, and I’m sure that with the commitment of your government and Dr Mu Ming-Chu’s leadership of the NPC, great progress can be made.”
On the second day, the Board heard reports on the five APC sub-committees as well as updates from the five sub-regional representatives.
On the third day the visit continued with a visit to the New Taipei Dream Wheelchair Park where the delegation met with para badminton athletes and toured the facilities. They then went to the National Taiwan Normal University where they met with para Taekwondo athletes.
At the end of visit President Rashed said; “This is our first visit to Chinese Taipei and we couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome. Our hosts have created a superb setting for us to conduct our business in. The Executive Board have had some very fruitful discussions and are feeling energised about everything that we are aiming to achieve over the next three years to move us closer to our vision of making an inclusive Asia through sport.”
