Premier Su Visits Runner Kevin Lin in Taipei
MONDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2007
Premier Su Tseng-chang on Saturday evening specially made a visit to Wuku Township in Taipei County to pay a visit to Kevin Lin, the marathon runner who recently completed a run across the Sahara Desert. Lin, an endurance marathon runner, had just returned to his home from overseas. Premier Su said that Lin serves as an inspiration to the Taiwanese people, adding that each person should find his or her own platform and seize the opportunity to make a name for himself or herself in each corner of the world. He called on each person to test himself or herself to the limit, creating a new world for himself or herself.
Lin was accompanied by his mother and his coach, Pan Jui-ken, when meeting with Premier Su. Lin had only just arrived back at home from the airport. Premier Su expressed his concern for Lin's health after his 111 day journey in which he ran 7,500 kilometers across the Sahara Desert. Lin said several times that he was fine and that he had recovered from the blisters on the bottom of his feet. Nonetheless, Premier Su still expressed concern and took a look at Lin's feet and said to Lin's mother that he was sure she was pained to see her son's feet in that condition.
Premier Su said that all of Taiwan is proud of Lin. He added in jest that while he has forged from one end to the other end of Taiwan, Lin had made it across the entire Sahara Desert.
The premier said that the eyes of the people of Taiwan were focused on Lin on his journey back to Taiwan, seeking to welcome back this person who has brought such pride to the nation. Premier Su expressed his praise to Lin for draping himself in a Taiwan flag on the final leg of his run. The premier said that we can see the indefatigable spirit of the Taiwanese people in Lin's actions. In addition, he said that Lin understands the meaning of gratitude and to cherish what he has. Lin had continuously thanked the government, the people of Taiwan and corporate sponsors for the support they had given him. The premier added that Lin's determination, fortitude, stamina and willpower are what enabled him to conquer all of the barriers placed in front of him and helped him to emerge and accomplish this feat of endurance.
The premier said that there is much we can learn and comprehend from Lin. He noted that Lin might not emerge victorious in a 100 meter dash and that he probably would also not end among the frontrunners in a marathon. However, if a marathon continued to be run, most other participants would probably fall down in exhaustion. Lin, on the other can, could run 100 kilometers, earning him the title of being a “super marathonist.” Premier Su said even rarer is that Lin not only runs in Taiwan, but also he wears the Taiwan flag proudly in running throughout the world, even in some of the world's harshest and dangerous places, such as deserts. Running through these places is a challenge from start to finish. He said that Lin's performance gives us all hope and lets us all see the “one blade of grass, one drop of dew” spirit, which reminds us that no matter now insignificant one blade of grass might be, it still receives a drop of dew from nature. The premier said that everyone must find his or her own stage and seize the opportunity to be successful.
Premier Su expressed his appreciation on behalf of the government to Lin for his outstanding performance and for enabling the world to see Taiwan. He said that the United Nations' website took notice and featured Lin on its website. In addition, production companies in the United States spent in the hundreds of millions of NT dollars to shoot a documentary film that will show the world the accomplishments of Lin and Taiwan. The premier said he believes that people throughout the world will get to know Taiwan as the result of Lin's accomplishment and will learn about the indefatigable spirit of the Taiwanese people. Premier Su thanked Lin for his efforts and breakthroughs, enabling the light of Taiwan to shine throughout the world.
Lin told Premier Su that all the people in the crowd were thrilled when he reached the Red Sea on February 20, marking the completion of his journey across the Sahara Desert. Lin said that even though running across the Sahara Desert is not a record that is kept in the Asian Games or the Olympics, it is one of man's greatest challenges. He added that the accomplishments of this journey will eternally be documented in the annals of history. He said of the trio of marathon runners who set out on the challenge, one was a Taiwanese. Lin said that he is extremely proud to have made a name for Taiwan in this adventure. Lin noted that this run across the Sahara not only marked a challenge in overcoming the desert and for running for such a long time, but also forced him to face many other difficulties. For instance, during the run, the trio of runners came upon military bases of many countries in the region. They were not able to pass through and therefore had to circle around the installations. He said that there were some places in which they faced the danger of land mines. He said that there was once when he and an American runner were going to the bathroom, the spot they were using was a mine field. Fortunately, Libyan police in the area used body language to alert them of the area they were in and to tell them to exhibit caution. If they had stepped on a mine, it would have exploded. Lin said they escaped by sheer luck and were fortunate enough to complete the difficult journey across the desert.
Lin said he said he has brought back to Taiwan with him details of the itinerary and also other precious information. The most important log of this journey, however, is the two hour documentary film that was taken during the journey and that will be shown on the National Geographic channel throughout the world. He said he is grateful to the government for its support as well as the assistance provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said MOFA made arrangements that enabled him to enter Senegal and other places, which ultimately let him complete his journey. Lin also said that if it were not for the support and assistance of everyone on Taiwan, he would have been extremely bored in his runs overseas, even losing faith to the point of crying and not having the stamina to complete the journey. Lin said be believes that this run across the Sahara was not accomplished by a single person. Rather it was a journey across the Sahara Desert by all the people of Taiwan.
Lin stressed that that the success of this journey was not only due to the support of the government and people of Taiwan, but also thanks to the corporate sponsorship by local companies. Lin expressed his gratitude to corporate sponsors who have long provided him support. He humbly said that he merely took advantage of the opportunity afforded to him and did not give up. He said he took the spirit of the Taiwanese people with him in running across the Sahara Desert, creating history for the people of Taiwan.
Lin told Premier Su that he has no intention of giving up endurance running. He said that he will set out on his next challenge on March 15th, which is to conquer the Arctic Circle. The Executive Yuan's National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports will hold a celebration on February 26 to mark Lin's accomplishments and continue to urge him on in his future pursuits.
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