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- Does Taiwan participate in international sports competitions?
ROC athletes participate in the Olympics and other international tournaments and competitions.
On May 11, 2001, Taiwan participated in the Third Open Summer Games "Olympic Hopes" in Bulgaria. Athletes from Taiwan competed in five areas and won 21 gold, 17 silver, and six bronze medals.
Between May 18 and May 28, 2001, the delegation from Taiwan won six gold, 16 silver, and 31 bronze medals in the Third East Asian Games in Osaka, Japan. Overall, the team from Taiwan ranked fifth, after Japan, China, South Korea, and Kazakhstan.
During the Sixth World Games held in Akita, Japan, between August 16 and August 26, 2001, the Taiwan delegation of 65 athletes won three gold, three silver, and five bronze medals, placing 14th out of 92 countries.
The 2001 World University Games were held in Beijing, China, between August 21 and September 1 with 167 countries participating. The Taiwan delegation had 106 athletes competing in eight areas: tennis, table tennis, track and field, gymnastics, swimming, basketball, volleyball, and judo. They returned to Taipei with three silver and five bronze medals.
- What are the professional sports in Taiwan?
Taiwan has professional associations or leagues for three sports: baseball, basketball, and golf.
Baseball has a strong following in Taiwan. Each year during the baseball season from March to October, Taiwan fans pack local stadiums to watch the four teams in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. In the 2001 season, each team played more than 180 games. The Taiwan Major Professional Baseball League was formed in April 1997 and its four teams competed in a total of 196 games in the 2001 season.
Professional basketball made its debut in 1994 with the inception of the Chinese Basketball Alliance. In August 2001, the 24th R. William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament was held in Kaohsiung, with teams from eight countries participating in the eight-day competition. The team from Taiwan won the championship, marking the first time in the tournament's 24-year history that a team from Taiwan had won the cup. In addition, the basketball team from Taiwan placed seventh during the 21st Asian Basketball Championship for Men held in Shanghai in July 2001, and won second place in the Third East Asian Games 2001 held in Osaka, Japan, in May.
Golf was first played in Taiwan over 80 years ago and has steadily gained in popularity. The Professional Golf Association of the ROC holds a series of annual tournaments in Taiwan. In 2001, Taiwan's golf teams also participated in competitions held in Hong Kong, Malaysia, the US, and Singapore.
- How are traditional martial arts being preserved in Taiwan?
The development of traditional sports is vital to the preservation of culture. Kuoshu is a collective name for more than 20 different styles of traditional martial arts, including tai chi chuan. Kuoshu is a recognized sport in the Asian Games. Reflective of Taiwan's commitment to kuoshu, the Chinese Taipei Kuoshu Federation receives funding directly from the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and Taiwan is the headquarters of the International Chinese Kuoshu Federation. In May 2001, the Kuoshu delegation from Taiwan attended the Third East Asian Games held in Japan and won one silver and two bronze medals. In October 2001, the ROC team attended the Six World Kuoshu Championship held in Armenia, and the First Asian Youth Kuoshu Championship held in Vietnam, where it won a combined total of four silver and three bronze medals.
- What sports events are available for the disabled?
Athletes from Taiwan participate in a number of national and international competitions for the disabled, including the 2002 National Sports Games for the Mentally and Physically Disabled in Pingtung County, the 2001 World Games for the Deaf in Rome, and the Czech Open 2001 Table Tennis Tournament for the Disabled. Taiwan also won the right to host the 2003 World Deaf Bowling Championship.
The Chinese Taipei Sports Association for the Disabled assists with athletic training and sponsors many competitions for disabled athletes. The association is a member of the International Paralympic Committee and other international sports federations for the disabled. In 2001, 28 organizations, including the ROC General Committee on Sports Games for the Mentally Disabled, held more than 50 sports activities, seminars, and recreational activities for the mentally disabled.
- What are the favorite forms of recreation in Taiwan?
A recent survey shows that the most popular pastimes are watching television, reading, listening to music and radio broadcasts, visiting family and friends, and shopping. On weekends and holidays, many people prefer outdoor activities. The mountainous geography of the island and its diverse climate varying from temperate to tropical provide an excellent environment suitable for activities such as climbing, hiking, river rafting, and camping. In the coastal areas, swimming, surfing, scuba diving, and sailboarding are popular outdoor recreational activities.
Since Taiwan has some of Asia's most dynamic and prosperous cities, urban residents in Taiwan can enjoy international, experimental, or traditional theater; eat out at street stalls, night markets, or five-star hotels; dance at discos; go shopping at glamorous department stores; or have a quiet night at home watching videos. Teahouses abound in Taiwan, providing the ideal hideaway for tea drinkers to sample a wide selection of first-class teas in a more traditional recreational activity.
City parks on any morning of the week provide a wide variety of recreational activities: ballroom and folk dancing, kung fu, aerobics, jogging, badminton, singing, and taking pet birds outdoors for some fresh air.
- How do young people spend their leisure time?
Most teenagers attending senior high school hope to enter a university or college; therefore, they do not have much leisure time, as they are usually busy preparing for the intensely competitive university entrance exams. When they do have leisure time, they like to sing karaoke, watch movies, or go on short day-trips to nearby cultural or scenic spots to barbecue or picnic. Pool halls and bowling alleys are popular alternatives, and many recreational facilities, such as bars and pubs, coffee shops, Internet cafes, and cartoon/comic libraries are open 24 hours. The night scene also includes discos with all types of music and live bands.
For organized recreational activities, there are groups like the China Youth Corps, which offers young people diverse outdoor activities such as parachuting, rafting, mock military exercises, and safari-style adventures on weekends and holidays. For those who prefer indoor activities, the corps also provides lessons in music and art, including guitar workshops and painting classes.
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