The education and defense authorities have launched a new plan to improve the overall swimming abilities of Taiwanese people,

and a total of 18.6 billion NT dollars will be devoted to the construction of swimming pools islandwide over the next five years. But some have expressed their doubts over the effectiveness and value of such a project.

The national citizen's swimming campaign is being implemented by three organizations, the MOE, Sports Affairs Council, and the Ministry of National Defense.

The three organizations expect to raise 18.6 billion NT dollars within five years to fund 100 swimming pool facilities in schools, communities, and military headquarters across the nation, with hopes to improve the public's swimming abilities.

The three organizations have stressed that with proper planning, the money will not go to waste.

The city government's hopes to set up swimming pools have earned the approval of school prinicials of remote towns, such as the principal of an elementary school in a remote town in Yunlin County.

The principal expresses his concern that elementary schools in remote towns lack affordable district swimming pool facilities and courses.

Coach Lai Guo-zhe who has led several national swimming champions also has lent his two sense, saying that Taiwan's competitiveness in swimming is underwhelming and the situation is even more evident in central and southern Taiwan.

Coach Lai believes that the swimming campaign will attract former swimming champions who have lost their way and improve Taiwanese citizens' basic swimming abilities.

However, managing a pool is difficult, and there are concerns that schools will reject the idea if they deem it too troublesome.

The three organizations will have to exhaustively plan out the details of the campaign for it to be truly successful.

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