- TAIWANTODAY.TW - Top News - 01/Jul 00:00

MOE deputy minister visits Palau president

A delegation led by Deputy Education Minister Chang Liao Wan-chien and Sports Administration Director-General Cheng Shih-chung met with Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. June 29 in the Pacific ally, highlighting government commitment to sports diplomacy.   According to the Ministry of Education, Whipps first thanked Taiwan for assisting national teams to prepare for the 2025 Pacific Mini Games, commencing the same day in Palau. He noted that since 2023 the ally’s national archery and swimming teams had trained at National Taiwan Sports University in the northern county of Taoyuan and the University of Taipei, while the baseball and tennis table teams also trained at the NTSU in April.   Taiwan further appointed baseball and table tennis coaches to visit Palau and work with national team athletes earlier this year, Whipps added. He concluded by expressing hope for further cooperative education projects.   Chang agreed to continue strengthening bilateral higher education collaboration. He added that the SA invited Wang Chien-ming, a former Major League Baseball pitcher and current coach for the professional Brothers team, to serve as a guest coach for Palau’s national baseball team in April and wished the team success in the championship.   Following the meeting, delegation members attended the 2025 Pacific Mini Games opening ceremony and watched baseball and table tennis tournaments competed in by Palau teams.   The SA said that training Palau athletes in Taiwan is one of the best examples of allied cooperation, noting that the Ministry of Sports which is set to be launched on Sept. 9 will be an instrument of sports diplomacy. The government will continue to invest further resources and multiply sports exchanges with allies to enhance contributions to the international sports community and raise the country’s profile, the administration added. (YCH-E)   Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw