Acting as the representative of FIA in Taiwan, “Chinese Taipei Automobile Federation” and Lihpao Racing Park were commissioned by the Sports Bureau, Taichung City Government to hold the first motorsport forum hosted by the government in Taiwan in Lihpao racing track today (4th). By inviting representatives from all walks of life, this “2020 Taiwan Industry Motorsport Forum: Safe Driving and the Fun of Racetrack and New Thinking for Taiwan Racing Culture” aimed to gather comprehensive and practical opinions to serve as the basis for motorsport promotion for the Taichung City Government.
CTAF President Chih-Hung Chen indicated in the address that motorsport in Taiwan has encountered visible and invisible restrictions, resulting in unexpected development in recent decades. He suggested that new thinking must be adopted. By starting from “safe driving” that has direct relation to the general public, the acceptance of motorsport may have the chance to increase among the public to make structural changes in the overall motorsport environment.
Guests from all circles participated in the motorsport forum, starting from the left was Hsing Yu-lung, Chen Rui-hung, Lin Po-heng, Li Yung-te, Chen Han-cheng, Chen He-huang, Chou Po-hsiung, Shen Jen-wei and Chung Yueh-chih
The Director-General of the Sports Bureau, Taichung City Government, Li Yu-jui said that Taichung City Government has observed the development potentiality of motorsport in recent years and linking up with the world through sport is an important target for the City Government to promote a healthy city. Thus, the City Government especially introduced the leading Red Bull Racing in the international racing circle this year to Taichung for demonstration. Though the originally planned racing show run was cancelled due to the COVID-19 epidemic, this fostered the holding of this forum in the hope of further driving the development of the Taiwan motorsport industry.
Various representatives invited by this distinctive motorsport forum were outstanding celebrities, including Chen Chun-shan known as the Racing God-father of Taiwan, Lin Po-heng who once dominated Formula Renault, Chen Han-cheng who participated twice in the 24 Heures Le-Mans in France, Li Yung-te, the first in Asia to win the annual champion of Mercedes-AMG GT3, Asian cross-country rally racer Chen He-huang and track day expert Chou Po-hsiung. All of them participated in the forum hosted by the senior media professional Hsing Yu-lung with his rich experience in hosting racing events.
In the first half of the forum, racer Chen Chun-shan, Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee Consultant Sun Li-chun and Professor Liu Ming-huang, National Taiwan University of Sport gave a 15-minute keynote speech, respectively, with topics covering the development history of Taiwan motorsport, development experience of other countries and the industrialization of sports. The “Racing God-father of Taiwan” Chen Chun-shan who has been engaged in motorsport since 1988 shared that racing was actually the base for the automobile industry development by testing the limits of automobiles via extreme driving conditions and further urging the advancements in technology. Famous examples include well-known car dealers such as Honda and BMW. Sun Li-chun took the development of International Olympic Committee as an example to explain that only by integrating the enterprises and sports can we have chance to develop the industry. We should not think of seeking assistance but think of creating value together to assist the sustainable development of the racer and industrial environment. Liu Ming-huang indicated that adopting “safety” as the breakthrough point is crucial to developing the recognition of parents. He also suggested that civil organization to conduct promotions in the campus that include concept of safe driving to form a good cycle and further cultivate young people for racing promotions.
The “summit” in the second half of the forum consisted of representatives from the racing circle such as Lin Po-heng, Chen Han-cheng, Li Yung-te, Chen He-huang and Chou Po-hsiung and FORD Director of Marketing Shen Jen-wei, CTMSA Sport Department Manager Chung Yueh-chih and Lihpao Racing Park Vice President Chen Rui-hung. All of them participated in the discussions and gave their opinions focusing on the 3 major issues of “how to promote the development of related industries,” “how can the racetrack co-exist with the surrounding environment” and “how to expand the participation in motorsport.”
It is worth noting that this forum was the first to promote “safe driving” as an important aspect in motorsport development in a conference related to racing. Since the road safety outside of the racetrack was closely linked to the public, only by promoting and increasing road safety consciousness at the same time can motorsport be accepted by the Taiwanese public.
In addition to Li Yu-jui, Director-General of Sports Bureau, Taichung City Government, and Lee Shan-chih, the Director-General of Legal Affairs Bureau showed up in the forum today. There were many famous enterprise representatives that participated in the event, including KGI Commercial Bank Chairman Wei Pao-sheng and various car dealer representatives attended in person. Moreover, because the number of people who signed up was more than expected, the organizer flexibly added a second site for auto fans and people concerned about motorsport to watch this exciting conversation inside the racetrack simultaneously.
