Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng yesterday sent a congratulatory message to the national delegation for their exceptional and sensational achievements at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, which ended on Sunday.
According to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS), Ho sent the letter on behalf of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and its citizens, conveying the utmost respect and sincere congratulations to the nation’s athletes for achieving “glorious” results, with many breakthroughs for Team China at the 13th Paralympic Winter Games.
The national team won 18 gold medals, 20 silver medals, and 23 bronze medals at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Ho pointed out that the number of gold medals won, and the aggregate medal tally, meant China for the first time topped the medal table in both categories. Such impressive results won great honour for the whole nation, for its people, and for Beijing as a dual Olympic Games city, i.e., as host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, and of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Ho underlined.
The nation’s Paralympic athletes displayed “vigorously” the spirit of the Olympics, and the nation’s sporting spirit, as well as the competitive skills and the sportsmanship of all the nation’s citizens with disabilities, Ho stressed. The athletes’ achievements illustrate vividly the “spirit of the Chinese story”, especially a chapter involving the hosting of two “splendid” editions of Olympic Games, the chief executive wrote in his congratulatory message.
Every medal was a result of individual endeavour, hardship and determination, Ho said. The spirit of resilience displayed by the athletes with disabilities inspired, across the world, the idea of the enormous potential realisable in life, as well as the beauty of competition, sporting spirit, and life itself. The athletes’ devotion fortified the values of confidence, love, friendship, and hope, Ho said, adding that their success will further promote disabled people’s overall social development, including through the sports sector. Thus, the national team’s performance will boost and encourage the dignity, confidence, exertion, and independence of people with disabilities, Ho emphasised.
The Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 were not merely a sporting gala, but also a showcase of China’s pursuit of its ideal of achieving a community with a shared future. The success in the Paralympic Winter Games reinforced confidence in the process of attaining the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Ho said, while presenting the image of a transparent, prosperous, and open country, committed to promoting a community with a shared future. Such effort, Ho stressed, will also strengthen awareness of China among people across the world, and help them gain a better understanding and knowledge of the country.
Ho also sent good wishes to Team China for scaling new heights in sporting events, and for fighting for the glory of the Chinese nation and the Chinese people.
The delegation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) walks into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games at the National Stadium in Beijing on March 4. – Xinhua
