Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has
successfully added a new dimension to his state visit to African allies with
“sport diplomacy” that will further cement bilateral relationships.
On
arrival in Swaziland for a three-day visit, Ma and Swaziland King Mswati III
reached an agreement to jointly hold friendly sport exercises like jogging and
push-ups in addition to discussing cooperation programmes.
While
in The Gambia, President Ma faced down another sports challenge before leaving
the country for Swaziland Saturday, leading Taiwan past The Gambia 4-3 in a
soccer penalty kick shootout at a local junior high school built with financial
aid from Taiwan.
Ma
scored a goal in each of three rounds in which five top officials from each
country attempted a penalty kick.
The
president's sporting abilities were previously tested Wednesday when he engaged
in a push-up challenge against Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. The contest
ended in a tie.
Taiwan's
team in Saturday's penalty kick battle consisted of the president, Foreign
Minister Timothy Yang, National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-chen,
Labor Minister Wang Ju-hsuan and Vice Economics Minister Lin Sheng-chung.
Wang
Hsien-min, an official at Taiwan's embassy in the Gambia, was the team's
goalkeeper.
On the
Gambian team were Jammeh and the country's foreign minister, health bureau
chief, interior minister, and secretary-general of the Presidential Office,
with the construction minister as its goalkeeper.
Yang
scored a decisive goal in the third round. Jammeh scored a goal in the second
and third rounds for the home team, and Gambia's foreign minister added a score
in the second round.
Though
the 61-year-old president is mostly known for enjoying non-ball sports, such as
running and swimming, Ma is said to have played soccer in high school and
college and earned the nickname “brave foot Ma” from teammates.
"The
most important thing is friendship. Winning or losing is not the point,” Ma
said, when asked how he felt about winning.
On
whether any other sports challenges might be on the horizon, Ma said hopefully,
“We have yet to compete in my strong suit--running.”
Ma is
on a 12-day trip in Africa to visit three of Taiwan's four diplomatic allies on
the continent. He started his trip in Burkina Faso and headed to Swaziland
Saturday night after his stay in The Gambia.
The
objective of the visit is to solidify diplomatic ties, deepen bilateral
understanding and review various joint projects in the fields of medicine,
agriculture, vocational education and infrastructure development, according to
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ma is
scheduled to return Taiwan on April 18.
News
Desk
The
China Post
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