Zheng Shizhong.

(File photo, photo by reporter Lin Yuefu)

[Reporter Liang Weiming/Taipei Report] The director of the Sports Department has been vacant for more than a year and a half. It is reported that Zheng Shizhong, the secretary-general of the Football Association, is very popular. He kept a low profile and did not respond when he went abroad. It is reported that the Ministry of Education has submitted a suitable candidate The Executive Yuan is expected to announce as soon as this week that the 47-year-old Zheng Shizhong has the opportunity to qualify and become the youngest domestic sports leader in history.

The former Director of Sports Zhang Shaoxi resigned due to the "business class incident" in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In September 2021, Lin Tengjiao, the Deputy Minister of Education, has been acting as the director.

At the beginning of November last year, Zheng Wencan was elected as the chairman of the Football Association, promoted Zheng Shizhong as the secretary-general, and praised him as "a sportsman with many talents. Zheng Shizhong, the vice president of the Executive Yuan and currently the dean of the School of Management of the National University of Science and Technology, is considered to be the most popular candidate to succeed the Director of Sports.　

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Zheng Shizhong has excellent academic experience. He is a doctor of the Sports Medicine Center of the Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham. He has served as the deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Games. Guan Amphibious has rich experience in sports administration and international affairs. When Zheng Wencan was re-elected as mayor of Taoyuan, he also maintained a long-term good relationship with the local government.

However, this year's two major events in Taiwan's sports world, including the Chengdu World University Games in June and the Hangzhou Asian Games in September, are both held in politically sensitive regions of China. In the post-epidemic era, competition for players from various countries is fierce, and cross-strait relations are tense. Steering under pressure?

It is bound to test the wisdom and ability of the new director.