Plans To Found Sports Ministry Move Forward

Government plans to set up a sports ministry take a step forward as Taiwan marks national physical education day.

Transcript

00:00Judo champion Yang Yong-Wei spars with students at National Taiwan University of Sport.

00:05He's here to promote sport, as Taiwan marks National Physical Education Day.

00:10Though these students have watched him compete on TV, most recently at the Paris Olympics,

00:14seeing his moves in person is eye-opening for them.

00:16He has a lot of details, so I want to learn more from him.

00:20Taiwan hopes to train students like these into the next generation of sporting greats.

00:24I hope he can guide these students.

00:28But the government thinks training sessions like this aren't enough.

00:34It wants to replace the existing sports administration with a full-blown sports ministry that will

00:38promote athletic excellence and promote Taiwan's global presence in other ways, like winning

00:43the right to host big sporting events.

00:45President Lai Ching-de first came out with the idea in May, during his inaugural address,

00:50and there are signs it could be founded next year.

00:53As Yang practiced with students, other big sporting names, including Olympic gold medalists

00:57Lin Yu-ting and Li Yang, met with Premier Zhou Rongtai.

01:01They've been named members of a committee to set up the ministry.

01:04Zhuo says officials want to know what those who've been on the podium think about the project.

01:09The government hopes the new ministry will promote exercise, but also put Taiwan in the

01:30global spotlight as the home of world-class athletes and the host of world-class competitions.

01:37Klein Wong and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.