President Ma Ying-jeou met with former NBA star Yao Ming and a delegation from the International Olympic Committee on Friday.
The delegation is raising money for the Special Olympics. More than 4.2 million athletes with intellectual disabilities come from more than 170 countries to participate in Special Olympics.
President Ma Ying-jeou said that Taiwanese people with intellectual disabilities have been achieving excellent results in Special Olympics events.
"Our athletes have won 87 gold, 94 silver, and 79 bronze metals," said Ma. "We hope that in the 14th Summer Special Olympics in 2015, our athletes can do better.”
President Ma said that he fund raised for the prize money for the Special Olympics when he was Taipei Mayor. Thanks to the dedication of special education teachers, nearly 250,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan have participated in the Special Olympics.