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SEPTEMBER 8 , 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 35 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK
By BRADLEY WINTERTON and SU CHIA SHYANG Taipei You won't see this flag in Sydney, where Tai-wan will compete as "Chinese Taipei" under an Olympic flag in deference to Beijing's political sensitivities. But fans back home won't care about that if their team hits gold for the first time in what may be the island's best chance ever. China will also be much on the minds of some Taiwan atheletes, especially table tennis duo Chiang Peng-lung and Chen Jing. Mainland players are among the sport's best, and Chiang, the island's top male player, was long said to suffer from "mainland phobia," regularly losing to opponents from China. But after recently beating China's world No. 1 Kong Linghui in the U.S., he is on a roll. Female champ Chen actually is from China, having moved to Taiwan six years ago. She won the silver for Chinese Taipei in Atlanta, and raised her profile further by taking the world title earlier this year in, of all confidence-boosting places, Sydney. Taiwan also hopes to horn in on South Korea's taekwondo party. It won several medals when the martial art was a demonstration sport in the last two Olympics. Expectations are hot for men's star Huang Chih-hsiung, who has been training in South Korea, and women's team leader Hsu Chih-ling, whose workouts at the high-altitude U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado are seen to have strengthened her heart and lungs. Another debut sport, wo-men's weightlifting, carries Tai-wan's hopes. The squad also carries some controversy — Chen Jui-lien, the 1996-1999 world champion in the 63-kg class, and Wu Mei-yi, the team's contender in the 69-kg category, were banned from competition earlier this year after testing positive for steroids. But the authorities reversed themselves after deciding testing procedures had been improper. Talk about a weight off of Chen's and Wu's shoulders. Write to Asiaweek at mail@web.asiaweek.com
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