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Letters | How Hong Kong can build on its Olympics success
- Chief Executive Carrie Lam has rightly pointed out that government support is essential to sports development
- Hong Kong’s pride in its athletes’ triumphs must not be used to fuel anti-mainland sentiment, but convince the city that it too can rebound in the wake of challenges
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The Hong Kong delegation set a record at the Tokyo Olympics, winning a total of six medals, including the first gold since 1996. Since 2019, Hongkongers have not come together to celebrate a common cause, except for cheering our Olympians.
Our Olympians have no doubt done Hong Kong proud. Yet their success could be a double-edged sword, if politically motivated supporters are allowed to use pro-Hong Kong sentiments to turn Hongkongers against mainland China. That is why I was greatly moved to see our table tennis star Doo Hoi-kem say she is proud to be Chinese and looks forward to participating in a flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was absolutely correct in saying that sports development needs plenty of support in the form of resources from the government. She pointed out that in the past four years, the government has spent HK$60 billion in non-recurrent expenditure to increase support for sports development.
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Recurrent funding for the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the key provider of training support for elite athletes, has increased from HK$520 million to HK$737 million, up 42 per cent, on her watch.
I am also pleased that Mrs Lam pledged to provide more support to the Hong Kong Sports Institute to build new state-of-the-art facilities, dormitories and rest areas for elite athletes, and to undertake research and development to develop advanced sports technology and support systems.
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Hong Kong swimmer Siobhan Haughey on the Tokyo Olympics, her historic silvers and future plans
Hong Kong swimmer Siobhan Haughey on the Tokyo Olympics, her historic silvers and future plans
In focusing attention on elite athletes, I hope the government will not neglect athletes who miss medal wins by small margins or buckled under pressure. In line with our government’s policy of promoting a broad sporting culture within our society, our participants in the Paralympics, as well as organisers of the Gay Games 2022, also deserve our support.
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