Taiwan Government Representative Unable to Attend Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony Due to COVID-19 Impact

Citizens wearing masks for COVID-19 prevention are shopping at a market in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, on the 6th. Taiwan, once considered a "model country" for quarantine, is strengthening its quarantine measures as the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads recently. As of this day, Taiwan's cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases is about 15,000.

The attendance of a Taiwanese ministerial-level official at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, which had attracted attention amid deteriorating cross-strait (China and Taiwan) relations, was canceled due to the impact of COVID-19.

Tang Feng, Minister-level Political Commissioner in charge of Digital Affairs, who was scheduled to attend the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony as a representative of the Taiwanese government, announced on Facebook on the 18th, "After consulting with President Tsai Ing-wen, I have canceled my visit to Japan to cooperate with the Tokyo Olympics quarantine measures."

Commissioner Tang stated, "My support for the athletes, blessings for the Olympics, and gratitude toward Japan remain unchanged," adding, "If there is an opportunity in the future, I would like to visit Japan and contribute to exchanges between Taiwan and Japan."

The attendance of a Taiwanese government political commissioner at the Olympics was the second attempt following Zheng Zilang's attendance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, drawing public interest.

Following the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration and the strengthening of the U.S. stance against China, Japan's support for Taiwan, aligned with this policy, was seen as a diplomatic choice by President Tsai, considering gratitude and the strengthening of relations, attracting significant attention.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.