1978 Taiwan Area Games

The 1978 Taiwan Area Games opened at the Tainan Municipal Stadium on October 27 with more than 7,000 athletes from 20 counties and cities participating. At 9 a.m., representatives of athletes were led into the stadium by Tainan Mayor Su Nancheng, who was the director of the preparatory committee, to salute Taiwan Governor Lin Yang-kang, who presided over the opening ceremony. More than 20,000 spectators, including Premier Y. S. Sun, Education Minister Chu Hui-sen, Admiral Ni Yue-si, president of the Republic of China Amateur Athletic Federation and Taipei Mayor Lee Teng-hui, witnessed the ceremony. An American gymnastic team which was invited to give a demonstration during the meet, also attended. The flag of the Taiwan Area Games was borne into the stadium by girl students dressed in Greek-style white robes symbolizing the Olympic spirit in sports. Then, runners holding torches high in the air entered the stadium from two side gates. After meeting in front of the review stand, they stepped up to start the symbolic flame of the games. Colorful balloons and doves were released and filled the sky over the stadium. Governor Lin then announced the opening of the meet and gave a brief address in which he exhorted the participants to do their best in order to achieve good results. Premier Y. S. Sun called on the athletes to demonstrate a spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship. He also expressed his joy on seeing the high spirits and morale of the participants. Wang Shen-chin, a sprinter from Tainan City, represented all participating athletes in taking the opening ceremony oath. Immediately after the opening ceremony, many kinds of demonstrations were put on by high school students from Tainan City, including gymnastic displays, dancing and rifle drills. The performance of uniform drills and changing patterns won loud applause from the spectators. President Chiang Ching-kuo was warmly welcomed when he arrived at the stadium at 3:17 p.m.. Junior middle school students sitting opposite the review stand immediately signaled "Welcome Mr. President" in big Chinese characters, using flash cards. Amid thunderous applause, President Chiang said he was pleased to see the vigorous performance of the participating athletes. "This indicates that our nation has a bright future," he stated. During the five-day meet, 37 events were staged. Although the rain and wind brought by typhoon Rita in the first two days of the competition affected the athletes' performances, altogether 11 national records and games records were set. The Pingtung County team won the overall championship in the men's track and field events and was awarded the scroll inscribed "Fen Li Tse Chiang" presented by President Chiang Ching-kuo, while the Yunlin County team won the overall championship in the women's events and was awarded a scroll presented by Vice President Shieh Tung-min. The Kaohsiung City team collected the most medals among 24 teams participating, including four gold, nine silver, six bronze and four fourth prizes for a total of 23. The host team, Tainan City, won 14 medals including seven gold, four silver and three bronze. A feature of the meet was the many fresh faces, many of them young, among the medal winners. In track and field events, middle school students won 42 of the total 102 medals, or some 40 percent, while there were also many junior middle and elementary school students defeating national representatives in the table tennis competition. This seemed to demonstrate that the Government's efforts in promoting sports throughout the country have produced good results. The city government and residents of Tainan put in every effort to make the games an impressive spectacle. They organized a series of cultural activities including a book exhibition, painting exhibition, concert, Chinese opera performance, and a fashion show to entertain participants and visitors. The closing ceremony was presided over by Hsieh Yu-hua, director of the Taiwan Provincial Department of Education, on October 31. The site of the 1979 Taiwan Area Games will be Taipei.